seigniorage noun. ['seɪnjǝrɪdʒ] Also seignorage. LME.
[Old French seignorage, -eurage (mod. -euriage), from seignor: see SEIGNIOR, -AGE.]
1. Profit made by a government by issuing currency; spec. the difference or margin between the face value of coins and their production costs; Hist. the Crown's right to charge a percentage on bullion brought to a mint for coining; the amount charged. Also (Hist.), something claimed by a monarch or feudal lord as a prerogative. LME.

2. Lordship, sovereignty. M17-E19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲