Sou
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An old French copper coin equal to one twentieth of a livre or twelve deniers; one sou is to the livre as one shilling is to the pound. historical
"He is grey, flat-footed and withered, with long, brittle nails that set your nerves on edge while he scrapes up your two sous."
- 2 a former French coin of low denomination; often used of any small amount of money wordnet
- 3 Cent; pocket money. dated, slang
- 4 A thing of the smallest value; a whit; a jot. dated
"I do not care a sou for your excuses."
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"Cool cloudy morning, hot sunny afternoon, it was for today, this 18th of July of 2025, here on Lulu Island. It was rather hot, but there was a slight breeze, so that I could flap my arms through it. I walked several times to Tim Hortons café for drinks and a steak sandwich. At home, there was much fish with rice. On the way to the café, I keep noticing what looks like a very tall European Mountain Ash tree, with bunches of orange berry-like fruits. At the café, there were a Hispanic mother and son. The mother said in Spanish to him, "Eres gay." "Te quiero" he mumbled. He was muscular with a stocky build, a good-looking mestizo with Amerindian blood. I whispered in Portuguese, "Sou um pardo..." Before 4 PM, I walked to the "Clam Temple," the Roman Catholic church on St. Albans Road. On the way, I saw the Bamboo Grove. Rotting rose leaves, rotting fig leaves, and rotting apples littered the compost beside it. At the near-empty grand nave, at the left front, was a group of Cantonese chanters. Maybe, they were not just Cantonese, but some were Hokkien. The list of donors to the building of the modern-looking church included many Cantonese, as well as Hokkien from the Philippines. I was sitting at the back of the nave. Today was my 71st time to the church this "Krismas" year of 2025. I love Science, though I'm a spiritual Syncretist."
Etymology
Borrowed from French sou. Doublet of sol, sold, soldo, solid, solidus, and xu.
Related phrases
More for "sou"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.