Pronunciation: ' tes- ˌ tän
Variant: or tes · toon \ tes- ' tün \
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from Old Italian testone, augmentative of testa head, from Late Latin, skull ― more at TESTER
Date: 1536
: any of several old European coins: as a : a shilling of Henry VIII of England decreasing in value to ninepence and then to sixpence in Shakespeare's time b : a French silver coin of the 16th century worth between 10 and 141/2 sous