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verso

verso

9.9
The side of a coin or medal opposite the front design
  • noun
  • /ˈvɜrsoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : reverso
  • Each coin has an inscription on the verso that provides additional information about its origin.

Examples

  • When examining the medal, I noticed that the verso featured a simple image rather than the main artwork.

  • Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. London: Verso, 1983.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso Press.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity. Trans. John Howe. London: Verso, 1995.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Jones, R. 2016. Violent Borders: Refugees and the Right to Move. London: Verso Books. King, R. 2012. Geography and Migration Studies: Retrospect and Prospect. Population, Space and Place 18(2): 134-153.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Moretti, Franco. Graphs, Maps, and Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History. New York: Verso, 2007. Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2011.

    Academic text (2018)

  • The design of the coin is beautifully detailed on the obverse, while the verso remains plain.

Synonyms

tail
vsverso
73 4.5

The side of a coin opposite the head image

is the side without the principal design, not only opposite a head image
reverse
vsverso
  • Specialized
3 5.1

The back side of a coin or medal that does not show the main design

is described as the side opposite the obverse

Surface Forms

verso singular
versos plural

Etymology

Verso comes from the Latin versus meaning 'turned', from vertere 'to turn', like the English word reverse. It was used for the 'turned' or 'back' side of things, so verso is the 'back' side of a coin opposite the main design.