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Glite Dictionary
Portuguese escudo

Portuguese escudo

8.6
Money Portugal used before the euro, equal to 100 centavos
  • noun
  • Literature
translation icon : escudo portugués
  • Tourists exchanging their money might have received Portuguese escudos from local banks before the currency change.

Examples

  • In the 1990s, the Portuguese escudo was the main currency used for shopping in Lisbon's markets.

  • Italy and Britain left the European Monetary System without committing themselves to a return date; all three currencies, as well as the Portuguese escudo, were officially devalued.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Before the euro was introduced, people in Portugal used the Portuguese escudo for everyday transactions.

Synonyms

escudo
vsPortuguese escudo
1 9.9

A former Portuguese unit of money equal to 100 centavos used before the euro

is identical in sense but omits the exact year of its end of use

Surface Forms

Portuguese escudo singular
Portuguese escudos plural

Morphology

Portuguese + escudo

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'Portuguese' (denoting origin) modifies 'escudo' (a unit of currency), yielding 'the currency of Portugal'. This is non-idiomatic and follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Portuguese escudo comes from the word escudo, which means 'shield' in Portuguese. Old Portuguese coins often had a shield on them, so people began to call the coin a 'shield', and the name stuck as the country's former unit of money.