Sterling - Definition of Sterling at Define.com Dictionary and Thesaurus (define Sterling)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Starling \Star"ling\ (-l[i^]ng), noun [OE. sterlyng, a dim. of OE. stare, AS. st[ae]r; akin to AS. stearn, G. star, staar, OHG. stara, Icel. starri, stari, Sw. stare, Dan. st[ae]r, L. sturnus. Cf. {Stare} a starling.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any passerine bird belonging to {Sturnus} and allied genera. The European starling ({Sturnus vulgaris}) is dark brown or greenish black, with a metallic gloss, and spotted with yellowish white. It is a sociable bird, and builds about houses, old towers, etc. Called also {stare}, and {starred}. The pied starling of India is {Sternopastor contra}.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A California fish; the rock trout.

3. A structure of piles driven round the piers of a bridge for protection and support; -- called also {sterling}.

{Rose-colored starling}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Pastor}.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Sterling \Ster"ling\, noun (Engin.) Same as {Starling}, 3.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Sterling \Ster"ling\, noun [OE. sterlynge, starling, for easterling, LL. esterlingus, probably from Easterling, once the popular name of German trades in England, whose money was of the purest quality: cf. MHG. sterlink a certain coin. Cf. {East}. ''Certain merchants of Norwaie, Denmarke, and of others those parties, called Ostomanni, or (as in our vulgar language we tearme them), easterlings, because they lie east in respect of us.'' --Holinshed. ''In the time of . . . King Richard the First, monie coined in the east parts of Germanie began to be of especiall request in England for the puritie thereof, and was called Easterling monie, as all inhabitants of those parts were called Easterlings, and shortly after some of that countrie, skillful in mint matters and allaies, were sent for into this realme to bring the coine to perfection; which since that time was called of them sterling, for Easterling.'' --Camden. ''Four thousand pound of sterlings.'' --R. of Gloucester.]

1. Any English coin of standard value; coined money.

So that ye offer nobles or sterlings. --Chaucer.

And Roman wealth in English sterling view. --Arbuthnot.

2. A certain standard of quality or value for money.

Sterling was the known and approved standard in England, in all probability, from the beginning of King Henry the Second's reign. --S. M. Leake.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Sterling \Ster"ling\, adjective

1. Belonging to, or relating to, the standard British money of account, or the British coinage; as, a pound sterling; a shilling sterling; a penny sterling; -- now chiefly applied to the lawful money of England; but sterling cost, sterling value, are used. ''With sterling money.'' --Shak.

2. Genuine; pure; of excellent quality; conforming to the highest standard; of full value; as, a work of sterling merit; a man of sterling good sense.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

sterling

adjective

1: highest in quality [syn: {greatest}, {sterling(a)}, {superlative}]

noun

1: British money; especially the pound sterling as the basic monetary unit of the UK

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

191 Moby Thesaurus words for "sterling": Christian, admirable, and pence, authentic, blameless, bona fide, candid, capital, card-carrying, cash, circulating medium, clean, coinage, coined liberty, cold cash, creditable, currency, decent, dinkum, divine, dollars, emergency money, erect, estimable, ethical, excellent, exceptional, exquisite, fair, filthy lucre, financial, fine, first-class, fiscal, following the letter, fractional currency, full of integrity, genuine, gilt-edged, glorious, gold, golden, good, hard cash, hard currency, heavenly, high-minded, high-principled, highly respectable, honest, honest-to-God, honorable, immaculate, immense, inartificial, incomparable, inviolate, irreproachable, just, law-abiding, law-loving, law-revering, lawful, legal tender, legitimate, lifelike, literal, lucre, magnificent, mammon, managed currency, manly, marvelous, matchless, medium of exchange, mintage, monetary, money, moral, natural, naturalistic, necessity money, noble, nonpareil, numismatic, nummary, original, pecuniary, peerless, pelf, postage currency, postal currency, pounds, principled, pure, real, realistic, reputable, respectable, right, right-minded, righteous, rightful, scrip, sensational, shillings, silver, simon-pure, simple, sincere, soft currency, specie, splendid, splendiferous, spotless, stainless, sumptuary, super, superb, supereminent, superexcellent, superfine, superior, superlative, sure-enough, terrific, the almighty dollar, the wherewith, the wherewithal, tremendous, true, true to life, true to nature, true to reality, true-dealing, true-devoted, true-disposing, true-souled, true-spirited, truehearted, unadulterated, unaffected, unassumed, unassuming, unblemished, uncolored, unconcocted, uncopied, uncorrupt, uncorrupted, uncounterfeited, undefiled, undisguised, undisguising, undistorted, unexaggerated, unfabricated, unfanciful, unfeigned, unfeigning, unfictitious, unflattering, unimagined, unimitated, unimpeachable, uninvented, unpretended, unpretending, unqualified, unromantic, unsimulated, unspecious, unspotted, unstained, unsullied, unsynthetic, untarnished, unvarnished, upright, uprighteous, upstanding, verbal, verbatim, veridical, verisimilar, very good, virtuous, wonderful, word-for-word, worthy, yeomanly

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

Sterling, AK (CDP, FIPS 73070) Location: 60.51518 N, 150.79705 W Population (1990): 3802 (2179 housing units) Area: 220.9 sq km (land), 7.3 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 99672 Sterling, CO (city, FIPS 73935) Location: 40.62649 N, 103.19914 W Population (1990): 10362 (4791 housing units) Area: 14.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 80751 Sterling, CT Zip code(s): 06377 Sterling, ID Zip code(s): 83210 Sterling, IL (city, FIPS 72546) Location: 41.79823 N, 89.69153 W Population (1990): 15132 (6364 housing units) Area: 10.5 sq km (land), 0.5 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 61081 Sterling, KS (city, FIPS 68200) Location: 38.20916 N, 98.20578 W Population (1990): 2115 (878 housing units) Area: 3.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 67579 Sterling, MA Zip code(s): 01564 Sterling, MI (village, FIPS 76420) Location: 44.03213 N, 84.02031 W Population (1990): 520 (190 housing units) Area: 2.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 48659 Sterling, ND Zip code(s): 58572 Sterling, NE (village, FIPS 47150) Location: 40.46189 N, 96.37806 W Population (1990): 451 (217 housing units) Area: 1.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 68443 Sterling, NY Zip code(s): 13156 Sterling, OH Zip code(s): 44276 Sterling, OK (town, FIPS 70150) Location: 34.74952 N, 98.17244 W Population (1990): 684 (337 housing units) Area: 2.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Sterling, PA Zip code(s): 18463 Sterling, UT (town, FIPS 72940) Location: 39.19430 N, 111.69087 W Population (1990): 191 (77 housing units) Area: 0.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Sterling, VA (CDP, FIPS 75376) Location: 39.00133 N, 77.40830 W Population (1990): 20512 (7344 housing units) Area: 17.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 22170