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Yen

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yen¹

  • /jɛn/

Rhymes with -ɛn

Where it comes from

From Medhurst and Hepburn’s romanizations, under the influence of earlier Portuguese romanizations, of Japanese 圓(えん) (en, “round; a round object”) as ye or yen, now 円(えん) (en), from Chinese 銀圓 /银圆 (yínyuán, “round silver object(s), especially a piece of eight”): 銀 /银 (yín, “silver”) + 圓 /圆 (yuán, “circular, round; yuan, yen, dollar”). Cognate with Chinese 元 (yuán, “monetary unit, especially RMB”) and Korean 원 (won, “North or South Korean won”). Doublet of won and yuan.

noun yen

  1. The unit of Japanese currency (symbol: ¥) since 1871, divided into 100 sen. Passing by those clauses of it which demand no notice, we arrive at that which provides that "each proposal (for purchase) must state the price per picul of rice in gold yen." But why in gold yen, a coin as yet so scarce as to be almost beyond the ken of the foreign merchant?
  2. A coin or note worth one yen. When banks lend, they create money out of nothing, without withdrawing it from other parts of the economy. This way, fiscal policy would not have crowded out private-sector activity yen by yen, as actually happened.

Similar: JPY

yen²

  • /jɛn/

Rhymes with -ɛn

Where it comes from

Origin uncertain, but probably from Cantonese 癮 /瘾 (jan⁵, “craving”) originally in reference to opium addiction, 煙癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵) or 菸癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵): 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the later yen (“opium”) and yen-yen.

noun yens

  1. A strong desire, urge, or yearning. humankind's yen for knowledge

verb yens · yenning · yenned

  1. transitive To have a strong desire for. Yenning, groaning, longing after.

yen³

  • /jɛn/

Rhymes with -ɛn

Where it comes from

From Mandarin 煙 /烟 (yān), 菸 /烟 (yān), or Cantonese 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the earlier yen (“strong desire”) and later yen-yen.

noun

  1. slang, uncountable Opium.

Yen⁴

Where it comes from

From Mandarin 燕 (Yān), reinforced by Wade-Giles romanization: Yen¹.

proper noun

  1. alternative Alternative form of Yan (ancient kingdom)Yan [...]Nothing but War was to be ſeen among ſo many different States, and their mutual Invaſions reduced the Empire into ſeven great Kingdoms, which were called Tſin, Tſou, Yen, Tchao, Han, Iſi, Ouei: The Kingdom of Yen, which at that time comprehended no more than the preſent Province of Petche li, m

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