Argent, argentum, monnaie, and moneta

As we conclude a meeting, one of the attendees says “Le temps, c’est de l’argent.” And yes, time is money, but what about the word money throughout time? For thousands of years, French (like other languages) has evolved from common roots. This helps to build a narrative about words and see them as they relate to daily life, but also how they change meaning throughout historical periods.

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The simplest and most used words can sometimes be the most fascinating. Take the word argent, today used to describe money. But rewind time some two thousand years and we find the origin in the Latin word argentum, the word used for silver.

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From the 1500s onward, argent made its way into French as a way of describing money and commerce. But check this out, because the Latin word argentum means silver or “white metal”, in French, we have the evolved word from rare metals in ancient times to the time of the Renaissance and further onward into our modern times and an age of digital money.

If we briefly look at the English word money, that also traces its origin back to Latin and the word moneta. But this word took a slightly longer route via French and monnaie, which means cash.

Practising French words by looking at their past

Such short traces of words through languages and historical times medieval times, renaissance, and ancient times, provide a perfect way to connect the dots between words and their sometimes shared origin.