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bezant

[ bez-uhnt, bih-zant ]

noun

  1. Also bezzant. the gold solidus of the Byzantine Empire, widely circulated in the Middle Ages.
  2. Also byz·ant []. (in Romanesque architecture) any of a number of disklike ornaments, similar in form to the classical patera, used especially on the faces of archivolts.


bezant

/ ˈbɛzənt; bɪˈzænt /

noun

  1. a medieval Byzantine gold coin
  2. architect an ornament in the form of a flat disc
  3. heraldry a small gold circle
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of bezant1

1150–1200; Middle English besant < Old French < Latin byzantius (nummus) “Byzantine (coin)”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bezant1

C13: from Old French besant , from Medieval Latin Bӯzantius Byzantine (coin)
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Example Sentences

A bezant was a gold coin, originally struck at Byzantium, whence the name.

At Samara we find Mr. Bezant, one of our consignees, just recovering from the typhus which was contracted in his relief work.

There were moneys of various nations, even to the Spanish pistole and Turkish bezant.

She made no reply, but took from a pocket a bezant, and contrived to throw its yellow gleam in the sentinel's eyes.

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