A name used by different currencies
Dollar does not identify just one currency. It is the official name of currencies in several countries and territories, so the word alone may not reveal which one is meant. The symbol most closely associated with the name is $, but the symbol by itself does not necessarily identify a specific currency either.
Currencies called dollars include those of Australia, Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan. Each has its own currency identifier. The United States dollar, for instance, uses the code USD, while the Canadian dollar uses CAD. That distinction matters in exchange rates, payments and economic news, where the country name or code can prevent confusion.
The United States dollar
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and is also an official currency in other places, including El Salvador, Ecuador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and Timor-Leste. United States dollar banknotes circulate in Panama. The currency is divided into 100 cents.
In a conversation about exchange rates, “the dollar” may specifically mean the United States dollar, but the context determines that. To identify the currency, look for its full name, its code—such as USD or CAD—and the country or territory involved. The $ symbol is a clue, not a sufficient identifier on its own.
From thaler to dollar
The name’s history reaches back to silver coins minted in 1520 at Joachimsthal, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia and now called Jáchymov. Known as joachimsthalers, the coins came to be called thalers for short. The word dollar has a historical connection to this family of names.
Later, Spanish pesos were also known as Spanish dollars. In the eighteenth century, the Spanish dollar, or piece of eight, circulated widely in Spanish colonies and the Philippines, replacing the Lion dollar. This history helps explain how the name spread and came to designate different currencies. A dollar, therefore, can refer to a family of currency names rather than only to the currency of the United States.