louis
/ˈluː.i/ noun, proper noun
Forms louises
- noun (historical numismatics) Any gold or silver coin issued by the French kings from Louis XIII to Louis XVI and bearing their image on the obverse side, particularly the gold louis d'ors, originally a French form of the Spanish doubloon but varying in value between 10 and 24 livres.
- noun (historical numismatics) The louis d'or constitutionnel, a 24-livre gold coin issued by the First French Republic.
- noun (historical numismatics, informal) The franc germinal or napoleon, a similar gold coin issued by Napoleon and bearing his image on the obverse, worth 20 francs.
- proper noun A male given name from French.
- proper noun (uncommon) A female given name.
- proper noun (rare) A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French louis, from Louis, the name of the French kings who first issued these coins and whose images appeared on their obverses.
From French Louis, from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, &c., from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodhuvigs, Lodevis, Lodhwig, &c., from Latin Ludovicus, from Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud; famous”) + *wīgą (“battle”).
Doublet of Lewis (which is inherited since the Middle Ages) and, more remotely, Aloysius, Luis, Ludwig, Luigi, and Clovis.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “louis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details