What does ecu mean?
An ecu was a unit of currency used in France for several centuries, issued at various times in both gold and silver. The most famous varieties include the écu d'or, a gold coin minted from the reign of Louis IX onward, and later silver ecus that circulated widely through the early modern period. Because its value changed over time, the word today appears mostly in historical, literary, or numismatic contexts — travelers' accounts, novels set in earlier centuries, and coin-collecting references. A separate modern sense, usually written in capitals as ECU, stands for the European Currency Unit, a weighted basket of member currencies that served as the European Community's unit of account until the euro was introduced. For readers, encountering 'ecu' almost always signals either a glimpse into France's monetary past or a reference to Europe's financial history just before the single currency.
Any of several former French coins, in gold or silver, used from medieval times into the eighteenth century.
"She inherited a small purse of gold ecus from her grandmother."
Often italicized or accented (écu) in careful writing when referring specifically to French coinage.
(ECU) The European Currency Unit, the unit of account based on a basket of European Community currencies, used from 1979 until it was replaced by the euro in 1999.
"The project's budget was quoted at two million ECU."
Usually capitalized and often treated as an abbreviation rather than a common noun.
The standard plural adds -s without further change.
"He paid the innkeeper twenty ecus for a week's lodging."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ecu
The word ecu comes from Old French escut, meaning shield, ultimately derived from Latin scutum, the large shield carried by Roman soldiers — the coin being so named because some early issues bore a shield design on one face. It shares this Latin root with related coinage terms such as Italian scudo and Portuguese escudo, as well as English escutcheon, the heraldic term for a shield bearing a coat of arms.
How ecu is actually used
In modern use the word is largely historical or numismatic, referring to old French coinage. When written in capitals as ECU it denotes the pre-euro European unit of account, now chiefly of interest in economic history.
Easily confused with ecu
An echo is a repeated sound, whereas an ecu is an old French coin.