What does stater mean?
A stater is an ancient Greek coin, particularly one associated with a city-state and issued according to an established weight standard. The term is especially common in numismatics, where it may refer broadly to Greek coins of different metals or more narrowly to a gold stater. Staters are valued for their historical importance, distinctive designs, and connection with the commercial and political life of the ancient Greek world. An Athenian stater, for example, was a prominent silver coin widely used in the eastern Mediterranean. In ordinary modern English, the word is uncommon, and its literary sense for someone who states or expresses something is now rare. However, the word remains useful to readers interested in ancient history, archaeology, and coin collecting because it identifies a specific class of ancient currency rather than merely a generic coin.
An ancient Greek coin, especially one issued in a standard weight.
"The auction catalogue featured a well-preserved Athenian stater."
Common in historical and numismatic writing.
A person who states or expresses something.
"The stater of the principle was careful to distinguish suggestion from requirement."
Rare and literary; this sense is not normally used in contemporary prose.
The plural is used when referring to multiple ancient Greek coins.
"Several staters from different city-states were found in the excavation."
The stater was ancient Greece's heavyweight standard coin, named from the idea of a coin that stood at a fixed weight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stater come from?
The English word comes through Latin from Greek statēr, an ancient Greek coin or standard weight. Greek statēr is related to statos, “standing,” and belongs to a family of words associated with standing, being set, or establishing something. The same broad root appears in English words such as state, stable, station, and statute.
How stater is actually used
In modern usage, “stater” is chiefly a historical and numismatic term. The sense meaning a person who states something is rare and literary.
Easily confused with stater
A stater is an ancient coin, whereas a state is a political territory or governing authority.