Etymology

rupee

ru·pee
R1U1P3E1E1

Today it means: Any of the monetary currencies used in modern India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, the Seychelles, or Sri Lanka. Full definition →

Hindustani ← Sanskrit रूप्यक
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · derived fromरूप्यक“silver coin”
  2. Hindustani · derived from
  3. English todayrupee

Coined by Sher Shah Suri, the Sultan of the Suri Empire 1540–1545 as Hindustani रुपीया / رُوپِییَہ (rūpīya), variant of रुपया / رُوپَیَہ (rūpaya, “rupee”), from Sanskrit रूप्यक (rūpyaka, “silver coin”), from रूप्य (rūpya, “wrought gold or silver; stamped coin; beautiful, well-shaped; impressed, stamped”). Doublet of rufiyaa and rupiah.

Words from the same roots

Sanskritरूप्यक all →

rupiahrufiyaa

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.