doubloon means A former Spanish gold coin, also used in its American colonies.
doubloon is pronounced /dʌˈbluːn/.
Why “doubloon” is a great word
A former Spanish gold coin, originally valued at two escudos. From French doublon, from Spanish doblón, augmentative of dobla or doble ("double"), because it was worth double the value of a pistole or escudo; first attested in English in the 1620s. Unlike the "escudo," the standard unit, or the silver "piece of eight," a doubloon was the heavy, golden counterpart—a concentrated weight of empire and pirate legend. It is the cold, dense weight in a treasure chest, the specific glint through murky seawater, the stamped sovereign profile worn smooth by countless palms—a solid token of avarice, now reduced to a metaphor for buried desire.
Etymology
From French doublon, from Spanish doblón, augmentative of doble (“double”), because it was worth twice a pistole.
noun
- A former Spanish gold coin, also used in its American colonies.“English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Georges, and Louises, doubloons and double guineas and moidores and sequins, the pictures of all the kings of Europe for the last hundred years, strange Oriental pieces stamped with what looked like wisps of string or bits of spider's web, round pieces and square pieces, and pieces bored through the middle, as if to ware them round your neck – nearly every var”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- galleon 81% match — A large, three-masted, square rigged sailing ship with at least two decks. vs doubloon →
- picayune 80% match — A small coin of the value of six-and-a-quarter cents; a Spanish coin with a value of half a real; a fippenny bit. vs doubloon →
- picaroon 80% match — A pirate or picaro. vs doubloon →
- antique 78% match — Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; used especially in reference to Greece and Rome. vs doubloon →
- espadon 78% match — A long, heavy, two-handed and two-edged sword, formerly used by Spanish foot soldiers and by executioners. vs doubloon →
- goldhoard 78% match — Treasure; a treasury. vs doubloon →
- treasure 77% match — A collection of valuable things; accumulated wealth; a stock of money, jewels, etc. vs doubloon →
- cutlass 77% match — A short sword with a curved blade, and a convex edge; once used by sailors when boarding an enemy ship. vs doubloon →