small French coin, 1550s, back-formation from sous, plural of Old French soul, formerly a coin worth one-twentieth of a livre, from Latin solidus (see solidus).
Entries linking to sou
solidus n.
gold coin, late 14c., plural solidi, used of the English shilling as well as the Roman gold coin, from Late Latin solidus, name of an imperial Roman coin (worth about 25 denarii, introduced by Constantine the Great), in full nummus solidus, literally "solid coin," properly a coin of thick or solid metal, not of thin plate. See solid (adj.).
As the name of the oblique slash or dash separating shillings from pence in English prices (sometimes called a shilling mark and said to be a modified long -S- to denote "shillings") by 1891. It is also known as a virgule and is conventionally used as a substitute for the horizontal line in fractions or the division sign.
*sol-
also solə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "whole, well-kept."
It forms all or part of: catholic; consolidate; consolidation; holism; holo-; holocaust; Holocene; hologram; holograph; insouciant; safe; safety; sage (n.1) kind of herb; salubrious; salutary; salute; salvage; salvific; salvo "simultaneous discharge of guns;" save (v.) "deliver from danger;" save (prep.) "except;" solder; soldier; solemn; solicit; solicitous; solid; solidarity; solidity; sou.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit sarvah "uninjured, intact, whole;" Avestan haurva- "uninjured, intact;" Old Persian haruva-; Greek holos "whole;" Latin salvus "uninjured, in good health, safe," salus "good health," solidus "solid;" Armenian olj "whole, healthy."