What does byzant mean?
A byzant is a gold coin minted by the Byzantine Empire, best known under its Greek name nomisma and its Latin name solidus. First issued under Constantine I in the fourth century, the coin maintained remarkably stable gold content for some seven hundred years, making it the dominant currency of Mediterranean and Near Eastern trade throughout the Middle Ages. Merchants from western Europe to China recognized and trusted it, and countless states produced imitations. In heraldry, the term survives as the name for a roundel — a plain circular charge — colored gold or yellow, said to represent one of these coins. The spelling 'byzant' is now largely superseded by 'bezant', which is the form most dictionaries and heraldic authorities use. The word is therefore chiefly of interest to historians, coin collectors, and students of heraldry rather than to everyday speakers, but it preserves a vivid link to the economic power of Constantinople at its height.
nounA byzant is a gold coin of the Byzantine Empire, also known historically as a bezant; in heraldry, it denotes a gold disc (roundel) representing such a coin.
- A gold coin issued by the Byzantine Empire (the solidus/nomisma), widely circulated and imitated in medieval Europe and the Islamic world.
- In heraldry, a roundel of gold (or yellow), representing one of these coins.
"The medieval merchant paid for the silk bolts entirely in byzants, whose gold content was trusted from London to Cairo."
"The hoard contained several byzants struck in Constantinople during the seventh century."
"The family's coat of arms bore three byzants arranged in a triangle on an azure field."
Standard plural; the plural refers either to multiple coins or to multiple heraldic discs.
"The ransom was reckoned at ten thousand byzants."
For roughly 700 years the byzant was the dollar of the medieval world — so trusted that when it appears on a coat of arms as a plain gold disc, it still bears the coin's name.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of byzant
The word derives ultimately from Byzantium, the ancient Greek city refounded by Constantine as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire; the coins were called 'bezants' or 'byzants' in medieval Latin and French because they came from there. It entered English via Old French 'besant' in the Middle Ages, originally denoting the Byzantine gold coin and later applied to imitations and to the heraldic gold disc. The closely related form 'bezant' is the standard modern spelling.
How byzant is actually used
An archaic or specialist term encountered mainly in numismatics, medieval history, and heraldry; in modern writing 'bezant' is generally preferred for both senses.
Easily confused with byzant
'Bezant' is the standard and more common spelling of essentially the same word — a Byzantine gold coin or heraldic gold disc — while 'byzant' is an older or less common variant spelling.