What does giro mean?
Giro most often refers to a payment arrangement once widely used in Britain, allowing bills to be paid or money to be received without holding a current account. Payments were made through a giro account or postal banking system, and a giro cheque or similar order served as the instrument of payment. In this financial context, the word is now dated, although related payment systems remain in use in some countries. More rarely, giro means a turn, rotation, or complete circuit, as in describing movement around a course. The word is an English borrowing from the Italian giro, meaning a turn or circuit, and ultimately comes from a language of the ancient Greek word for circle. Its history therefore links two distinct ideas: the familiar British practice of transferring money and the older figurative sense of circular movement. Although its dominant financial use has declined, giro remains useful for recognizing references to a once-common way of paying household bills.
nounA payment order or transfer made through a bank or postal system, formerly used especially to pay bills without holding a current account. More rarely, a turn, revolution, or complete circuit.
- A dated British payment order or transfer, typically made through a bank or postal system for paying bills or receiving money without using a current account.
- A turn, rotation, or complete circuit, especially when describing a journey or movement around a course.
"The council sent the allowance by giro to families who did not have a current account."
"The housing association sent the repair costs by giro."
"The rider completed one giro of the circuit before stopping."
The standard plural is giros.
"Several giros were issued to residents without access to a current account."
The word that once helped people pay bills without a current account comes from the Italian for “turn.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does giro come from?
The English noun comes from Italian giro, meaning “a turn, circle, or circuit,” ultimately from Greek gyros, “circle,” by way of Latin. In banking, the term was applied to payment arrangements through which money circulated through accounts rather than being paid with an ordinary cheque. Its unusual development thus connects the old financial practice of sending money through a system to the word’s basic meaning of a turn or circuit.
How giro is actually used
The financial sense is now chiefly historical in British English, though it remains familiar in countries where giro-based payments or money-order systems are still used. The sense meaning a turn or circuit is rare in modern general English.
Easily confused with giro
A gyro is a rapidly rotating device, such as the gyroscope in an aircraft, whereas a giro is principally a payment order or, more rarely, a turn or circuit.