monaco
Syllable Decomposition
monaco(1680) antonomasia of monaco. In 1837 and 1838, Prince Honoré V of Monaco issued coins mainly of copper ("sous") with his effigy, which he attempted to circulate in France starting from Marseille without prior negotiation with the French government: although of good quality, these coins fell into disrepute. Hence the popular meaning of "suspect Monegasque currency" and then of "sou in general". Jacques Cellard and Alain Rey consider the term "[o]ld or out of use after 1930".