shekel: Meaning and Definition of

shek•el

Pronunciation: (shek'ul), [key]
— n.
  1. a paper money, cupronickel or silver coin, and monetary unit of Israel equal to 100 agorot: replaced the pound in 1980.
  2. an ancient, orig. Babylonian, unit of weight, of varying value, taken as equal to the fiftieth or the sixtieth part of a mina or to about a quarter to half an ounce.
  3. a coin of this weight, esp. the chief silver coin of the ancient Hebrews.
  4. money; cash.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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