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Glite Dictionary
🔩 Made of two metals 💰 Two-metal money system
bimetallic

bimetallic

1 8.6
A money system that uses two metals, usually gold and silver, at a fixed ratio
  • adjective
  • /ˌbaɪməˈtælɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : bimetálico
  • Many historians argue that the rise of the bimetallic system allowed for greater economic stability in the 19th century.

Examples

  • In fact, in about 1850, most countries were still either on a pure silver or a bimetallic standard.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The United States adopted the gold standard in 1878 by returning to the pre-Civil War gold parity, though there were efforts to get a bimetallic standard instead.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The proposal for a bimetallic currency could balance the value of gold and silver in international trade.

  • During the debate, the economist explained how a bimetallic standard could prevent inflation by linking the value of two metals.

Synonyms

bimetallistic
vsbimetallic
  • Specialized
9.9

Relating to a money system that uses two metals, usually gold and silver

focuses on legal tender coins fixed at a given exchange ratio

Compounds

bimetallic strip
  • Specialized
5.5

A thin strip of two metals joined together that bends when heated

Surface Forms

bimetallic positive

Morphology

bimetallic = metallic (transparent) = bi + metal + ic

The prefix 'bi-' ('two') added to 'metallic' straightforwardly yields a sense referring to two metals (here applied to a monetary system).

Etymology

Bimetallic comes from bi- meaning 'two' and metal meaning 'metal'. So a bimetallic monetary system is one that uses two metals, usually gold and silver, as money at a fixed value.