paper money
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: paper currency
Meaning · English
Bank notes as op- posed to coin, or bills used as currency,
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 “paper money” mean?
Bank notes as op- posed to coin, or bills used as currency,
Is “paper money” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.