The Origin of "Dollar"

Today class was so riveting that I was daydreaming about words. I actually started out translating my East Asian book into Spanish, but that didn't last long. Anyways, I began thinking about different languages and how the word money translates. And then, I thought about the specific word "dollar" and how it is not only qualitative (describing money) but also quantitative. My mind then wandered into the origin of the word "dollar." Was the US the first to use this word? Where did it come from? I asked Steven (because he's awesome) and he said his great great great grandfather came up with the term during the United States' fight for independence. Not taking him at his word tonight I googled the origin of the word "dollar" and came up with this article. It's really interesting. It goes from the origin of the actual word to where it was first used (as a silver coin in early colonial America by Spaniards) to different countries who also used the term and how it finally was officially used for US money. If you're into that sort of thing, I recommend reading the article. It's worth a hundred thalers.

There is also this entry from Fact Buffet that is actually one condensed sentence of the article above and this one too that hits more on the dollar sign.