legal tender
Preserved but no longer current.
Money which, by the law of the particular country, a creditor is bound to accept in discharge of a debt. In England the tender of gold, Treasury notes, and Bank of England notes (except for £10 and upwards) is legal up ,to any amount, with the one exception that a creditor of the Bank of England cannot be compelled to receive his money in Bank of England notes.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “legal tender” mean?
Money which, by the law of the particular country, a creditor is bound to accept in discharge of a debt. In England the tender of gold, Treasury notes, and Bank of England notes (except for £10 and upwards) is legal up ,to any amount, with the one exception that a creditor of the Bank of England cannot be compelled to receive his money in Bank of England notes.
Is “legal tender” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.