də̇rˈ(h)em noun
also dir·ham or der·ham -am
( -s )
Etymology: Arabic dirham, from Latin drachma drachma — more at dram
1. : a Muslim unit of weight originally established in Arabia as equal to two thirds of the Attic drachma or nearly 45 grains, later used with varying values in Persia, Turkey, and No. Africa, but by the 1930s found as a chief unit only in Egypt, there being equal to about 41 grains
2.
a. : a silver coin of Muslim countries the first issues of which in the 8th century weighed one dirhem
b. : a unit of value equivalent to the value of a dirhem coin originally 1/10 of a dinar
c. : the silver 50-fils piece of Iraq