スー（旧フランスの小額硬貨）
解説 Definition
旧フランスの小額硬貨「スー」。英語では歴史的・古風な語で、not a sou（びた一文もない）のように、ごくわずかな金額を表すこともあります。
A sou was a small French coin of low value, used under several historical monetary systems. In archaic or literary English, the word can mean a very small amount of money, especially in the phrase not a sou.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
sou は旧フランスの小額硬貨です。現代の日常的な支払いには使われない歴史語で、英語では not a sou「びた一文もない」という古風な表現で覚えるとよいでしょう。語源上はラテン語 solidus にさかのぼり、英語 solid と同根です。
Think of a sou as a tiny old French coin, not as a unit used in modern everyday payment. Its most memorable English setting is the literary phrase not a sou, meaning not even the smallest amount of money. The historical chain from Latin solidus through French forms also links it distantly with solid, although the modern words look very different. Imagine a character turning out empty pockets and saying that he does not have a sou. This scene captures both the coin’s low value and the archaic tone the word usually has in English.
例文
He did not have a sou to his name.
彼はびた一文持っていませんでした。
She left Paris without a sou in her pocket.
彼女は一銭も持たずにパリを去りました。
The old five-centime coin was known as a sou.
その昔の5サンチーム硬貨はスーと呼ばれていました。
sou の類義語・関連語
sou の語源・成り立ち Etymology
フランス語 sou（古い形は sol）から英語に入り、古フランス語 sol、さらに後期ラテン語 solidus（ローマの金貨名）にさかのぼります。英語 solid も同じラテン語 solidus に由来します。
Sou entered English from French sou, an older form of which was sol. The French word developed from Late Latin solidus, the name of a Roman gold coin and later a monetary unit. Solidus is related to Latin solidus, meaning firm or solid, which is also the source of English solid. Over centuries, the name was applied to lower-value French coins, and English borrowed it chiefly in historical and literary references to a very small sum.
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