Shil"ling (?), n. [OE.
shilling, schilling, AS.
scilling; akin to D. schelling, OS. & OHG.
scilling, G. schilling, Sw. & Dan.
skilling, Icel. skillingr, Goth. skilliggs, and perh.
to OHG. scellan to sound, G. schallen.]
1. A silver
coin, and money of account, of Great Britain and its dependencies, equal to twelve pence, or the
twentieth part of a pound, equivalent to about twenty-four cents of the United States currency.
2. In the United
States, a denomination of money, differing in value in different States. It is not now legally recognized.
&fist; Many of
the States while colonies had issued bills of credit which had depreciated in different degrees in the different colonies. Thus, in New
England currency (used also
in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida), after the adoption of the decimal system, the pound in
paper money was worth only $3.333, and the shilling 16&?; cts., or 6s. to $1; in
New York currency (also in North
Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan), the pound was
worth $2.50, and the shilling 12½ cts.,
or 8s. to $1; in Pennsylvania currency (also in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland), the pound was worth $2.70, and the shilling 13½ cts.,
or 7s. 6d. to $1; and in Georgia currency (also in South Carolina), the pound was
worth $4.29&?;, and the shilling 21&?; cts., or 4s 8d. to $1. In many parts of
the country . . . the reckoning by shillings and pence is not
yet entirely abandoned. Am. Cyc.
3. The Spanish real, of the value
of one eight of a dollar, or 12&?; cets; -- formerly so called in New York and
some other States. See Note under 2.
York shilling. Same as Shilling, 3.
Hear it pronounced