simon

See also: Simon, simón, ŝimon, Simón, Símon, and Šimon

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Uncertain. One theory suggests derivation from a joke based on the bible verse Acts 9:43,[1] rendered as “Peter lodged with Simon a tanner”, a pun on the meanings of lodge (“stay in a place; put away money”).[2] Partridge suggests that this not possible given the dates, however, and suggests instead derivation from some unknown person’s name.[3] Attested from the late 17th century, with synonymous tanner attested from the 18th.[3] Compare also simony, from a different biblical figure, Simon Magnus.

The “US dollar” sense derives from the earlier “sixpence”, perhaps influenced by the $ symbol.[4]

Pronunciation
  • enPR: sīʹmən, IPA(key): /ˈsaɪmən/
  • Rhymes: -aɪmən
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

simon (plural simons)

  1. (slang, British, dated) Sixpence coin. [17th-19th C.]
  2. (slang, US, archaic) A US dollar. [19th C.]

See also

References
  1. The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Acts 9:43: “And it came to passe, that he taried many dayes in Ioppa, with one Simon a Tanner.”
  2. Jonathon Green (2024) “simon n1.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang. See also tanner n.
  3. Eric Partridge (1937) “simon (or S.)”, in A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English […] , London: Macmillan, page 770
  4. “Simon, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

Anagrams
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