What does dirham mean?
A dirham is the basic monetary unit of several Arab countries, most notably the United Arab Emirates, where it is divided into 100 fils, and Morocco, where it is divided into 100 centimes. The word is used both as an uncountable term for the currency itself and as a countable noun when referring to specific sums — travelers might pay "forty dirhams" for a taxi fare or note that an item "costs fifty dirham." Historically, the dirham was a silver coin of the Islamic world, adopted from the ancient Greek drachma and minted across the medieval Muslim empires, where it served as one of the principal coins of international trade alongside the gold dinar. Today the word appears chiefly in financial reporting, travel writing, and historical discussion of Islamic coinage. Its long journey from classical Greece through Arabic commerce into modern banking makes it a striking example of how currency names can survive for millennia.
The basic monetary unit of the United Arab Emirates and Morocco (and formerly of other states), equal to 100 fils (UAE) or 100 centimes (Morocco).
"She exchanged her euros for dirhams at the airport bureau de change."
In formal financial writing the plural is often left invariant after numerals ("1,000 dirham"), though "dirhams" is common in everyday usage.
A former silver coin of the Islamic world, equivalent to the Greek drachma, used extensively in medieval trade.
"Viking hoards have yielded thousands of Islamic silver dirhams, evidence of far-reaching medieval trade networks."
This historical sense is encountered mainly in numismatic and archaeological literature.
The regular plural is "dirhams," but in formal financial contexts the singular form is frequently left unchanged after numerals (e.g., "500 dirham").
"The meal came to two hundred dirhams."
The dirham's name traces straight back to the ancient Greek drachma — a word carried across the Mediterranean by trade over two thousand years.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dirham
The English word "dirham" derives from the Arabic درهم (dirham), which was borrowed from Middle Persian dram, itself ultimately from the ancient Greek drachma, the classical silver coin. The term entered European languages largely through medieval trade contact with the Islamic world, appearing in English from at least the early modern period in accounts of Eastern coinage. Cognates include the Armenian dram, the modern national currency of Armenia, which preserves the same Greek lineage.
How dirham is actually used
"Dirham" functions as both countable and uncountable; plurals are typically "dirhams" when counting amounts informally, though "dirham" is often left unchanged after numerals in formal financial contexts (e.g. "500 dirham"). The term is neutral in register and appears mainly in economic, travel, or historical contexts.
Easily confused with dirham
A dram is an old unit of weight or a small quantity of liquid (especially whisky), whereas a dirham is a unit of currency used in several Arab countries.