n.1 hist. a former British coin and monetary unit worth one-twentieth of a pound or twelve pence.
2 a monetary unit in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Phrases and idioms:
shilling-mark hist. SOLIDUS. take the King's (or Queen's) shilling hist. enlist as a soldier (formerly a soldier was paid a shilling on enlisting).
Etymology: OE scilling, f. Gmc