sou

plural sous

1. historicalAn old French copper coin equal to one twentieth of a livre or twelve deniers; one sou is to the livre as one shilling is to the pound.

   Master of the house / Keeper of the zoo / Ready to relieve them of a sou or two

   1983, Herbert Kretzmer, “Master of the House”, in Les Misérables

   2 more examples

   He is grey, flat-footed and withered, with long, brittle nails that set your nerves on edge while he scrapes up your two sous.

   1918 February (date written), Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Je ne parle pas français”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 73

   […]the parrot tapped his claw on the Conciergerie and the Hôtel-Dieu, which he was ready to purchase in exchange for his protection and a tiny purse in which he jingled two sous.

   2026 [1979], Copi, “The Emir of Parrots”, in Kit Schluter, transl., City of Rats, New Directions Publishing, →ISBN, page 77

2. datedslangCent; pocket money.
3. datedA thing of the smallest value; a whit; a jot.

   I do not care a sou for your excuses.

plural Sous

1. A surname.