drachma

D2R1A1C3H4M3A1
/ˈdɹæk.mə//ˈdɹɑk.mə/

noun

The currency of Greece in ancient times and again from 1832 until 2001, with the symbol ₯, since replaced by the euro.

Similar
dramdrachmGreek drachma

Meanings

noundrachma (plural drachmas or drachmae or drachmai)

plural drachmas · plural drachmae · plural drachmai · alternative obsolete drachm · alternative dated drachme · alternative drakhma · alternative drakhme

  1. The currency of Greece in ancient times and again from 1832 until 2001, with the symbol ₯, since replaced by the euro.

    2008, Philip Matyszak, Ancient Athens on Five Drachmas a Day (title of the book)

    1 more example

    'Who is he, and where does he come from?' said I, 'and what does he charge?' 'Evenus of Paros, Socrates,' said he, 'and his fee is 500 drachmae.' I felt that Evenus was to be congratulated if he really was a master of this art and taught it at such a moderate fee.

    1993, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant, “Justice and Duty (i): Socrates Speaks at his Trial: the Apology”, in The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics), revised edition, London; New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 40
  2. A coin worth one drachma.
  3. An Ancient Greek weight of about 66.5 grains, or 4.3 grams.
  4. A later Greek weight equal to a gram.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna unit of apothecary weight equal to an eighth of an ounce or to 60 grains

Similar
Broader
apothecaries' unitapothecaries' weight

nounformerly the basic unit of money in Greece

Similar
Greek drachma
Broader
Greek monetary unit
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. grc-dorδρᾰχμᾱ́
  2. Latindrachma
  3. Englishdrachma

Learned borrowing from Latin drachma and its etymon Doric Greek δρᾰχμᾱ́ (drăkhmā́). Doublet of dram, diram, dirham, dirhem, adarme, and dam.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek δραχμή, δραχμή
  • δραχμή (drakhmḗ)currency
  • δραχμή (drakhmḗ)coin
Arabic دِرَاخْمَا
  • دِرَاخْمَا (dirāḵmā)currency
Bulgarian дра́хма, драхма
  • дра́хма (dráhma)currency
  • драхма (drahma)coin
Catalan dracma, dracma
  • dracmacurrency
  • dracmacoin
Chinese Mandarin 德拉克馬 /德拉克马
  • 德拉克馬 /德拉克马 (délākèmǎ)currency
Czech drachma
  • drachmacurrency
Esperanto draĥmo, drakmo
  • draĥmocurrency
  • drakmocurrency
Finnish drakma, drakma
  • drakmacurrency
  • drakmacoin
French drachme, drachme
  • drachmecurrency
  • drachmecoin
German Drachme
  • Drachmecurrency
Greek δραχμή, δαρχμά
  • δραχμή (drachmí)currency
  • δαρχμά (darkhmá)currency
  • δραχμή (drachmí)coin
  • δαρχμά (darkhmá)coin
Hindi दिरम, दिरहम
  • दिरम (diram)currency
  • दिरहम (dirham)currency
  • दिरम (diram)coin
  • दिरहम (dirham)coin
  • द्रम्म (dramm)coin
Italian dracma
  • dracmacurrency
Japanese ドラクマ
  • ドラクマ (dorakuma)currency
Korean 드라크마
  • 드라크마 (deurakeuma)currency
Latin drachma
  • drachmacurrency
Polish drachma, drachma
  • drachmacurrency
  • drachmacoin
Portuguese dracma, dracma
  • dracmacurrency
  • dracmacoin
Romanian drahmă
  • drahmăcurrency
Russian дра́хма
  • дра́хма (dráxma)currency
Spanish dracma
  • dracmacurrency
Tagalog drakma
  • drakmacurrency
Turkish drahmi
  • drahmicurrency
Ukrainian дра́хма
  • дра́хма (dráxma)currency
Cite this entry
APA

drachma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drachma

MLA

“drachma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drachma. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “drachma,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drachma.

Source: drachma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.