Louis
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of louis: various gold and silver coins issued by the French kings. alt-of, historical
"It was a strange collection, like Billy Bones’s hoard for the diversity of coinage, but so much larger and so much more varied that I think I never had more pleasure than in sorting them. English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Georges, and Louises, doubloons and double guineas and moidores and sequins, […]"
- 2 Any gold or silver coin issued by the French kings from Louis XIII to Louis XVI and bearing their image on the obverse side, particularly the gold louis d'ors, originally a French form of the Spanish doubloon but varying in value between 10 and 24 livres. historical
- 3 The louis d'or constitutionnel, a 24-livre gold coin issued by the First French Republic. historical
- 4 The franc germinal or napoleon, a similar gold coin issued by Napoleon and bearing his image on the obverse, worth 20 francs. historical, informal
- 1 A male given name from French.
"'It is hardly a week since you called me your future husband, and treated me as such; now I am once more the tutor for you: I am addressed as Mr. Moore, and Sir; your lips have forgotten Louis.' "'No, Louis, no: it is an easy, liquid name; not soon forgotten.'"
- 2 A female given name. uncommon
- 3 A surname. rare
"Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis have been marching to their own choreographic drummer for a long time now."
Example
More examples"Although the fork entered society on the tables of rich people, many members of royalty, such as Elizabeth I of England and Louis XIV of France, ate with their fingers."
Etymology
From French Louis, from Middle French Loïs, Loïc, &c., from Old French Looïs, Luis, Lodhuvigs, Lodevis, Lodhwig, &c., from Latin Ludovicus, from Clodovicus, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz (“loud; famous”) + *wīgą (“battle”). Doublet of Lewis (which is inherited since the Middle Ages) and, more remotely, Aloysius, Luis, Ludwig, Luigi, and Clovis.
Borrowed from French louis, from Louis, the name of the French kings who first issued these coins and whose images appeared on their obverses.