/bez"euhnt, bi zant"/ , n.
1. Also, bezzant . the gold solidus of the Byzantine Empire, widely circulated in the Middle Ages.
2. Also, byzant . (in Romanesque architecture) any of a number of disklike ornaments, similar in form to the classical patera, used esp. on the faces of archivolts.
Also, besant .
[ 1150-1200; ME besant byzantius ( nummus ) Byzantine (coin) ]