/cheuhr voh"nits, -nets/ ; Russ. /chyirdd vaw"nyits/ , n. , pl. chervontsi /-vohnt"see/ ; Russ. /-vawn"tsi/ .
a former gold coin and monetary unit of the U.S.S.R., equal to ten rubles.
Also, tchervonetz .
[ 1920-25; chervónets, ORuss chervon ( n ) yi a similar gold coin
czerwony a gold coin, lit., red (appar. because gold of a high purity was thought to have a reddish cast), c. Czech cervený, Serbo-Croatian crven, cr ( v ) ljen, Bulg chervén crvljen, orig. ptp. of * crviti to dye red, deriv. of * crvi worm, KERMES (Serbo-Croatian crv, Pol czerw, Russ cherv' ), a by-form of * crmi; cf. OCS chriminu red; see CRIMSON, VERMILION ]