Etymology

napoleon

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Today it means: The franc germinal: a 20-franc gold coin issued under Napoleon I of France. Full definition →

French Napoléon
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napoleon · noun1

  1. French · borrowed fromnapoléon“(slang) a coin that originally had the appearance of Napoleon's face in the obverse”
  2. French · borrowed fromNapoléon“a given name, usually in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte”
  3. English todaynapoleon

Borrowed from French Napoléon (“a given name, usually in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte”). In reference to coins, via French napoléon (“(slang) a coin that originally had the appearance of Napoleon's face in the obverse”). In reference to guns and possibly cards, a reference to Napoleon III.

Napoleon · proper noun, noun2

  1. Germanic · derived from
  2. Italian · derived fromNapoleone
  3. French · borrowed fromNapoléon
  4. English todayNapoleon

From French Napoléon, from Italian Napoleone, name of an early saint, of uncertain origin; possibly from the Germanic clan name Nibelung. By folk etymology explained as Napoli (“Naples”) + leone (“lion”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.