/ kɔɪn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] a small flat piece of metal used as money :
a euro coin
2.
[ U ] money made of metal :
notes and coin
•
IDIOMS
see side noun , two
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
to invent a new word or phrase that other people then begin to use :
The term 'cardboard city' was coined to describe communities of homeless people living in cardboard boxes.
2.
to make coins out of metal
•
IDIOMS
- be coining it (in) | be coining money
- to coin a phrase
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French coin wedge, corner, die, coigner to mint, from Latin cuneus wedge. The original sense was cornerstone , later angle or wedge (senses now spelled quoin); in late Middle English the term denoted a die for stamping money, or a piece of money produced by such a die.