English

Noun

assignat ‎(plural assignats)

1. (historical) A banknote used during the French Revolution, on the security of state land.
   • Burke

     They would not give a dog's ear of their most rumpled and ragged Scotch paper for twenty of your fairest assignats.

   • 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society 2010, p. 25:

     He was in favour of a national bank; he was strongly opposed to the reckless issue of assignats and spoke against it in the Assembly.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 508:

     The continuing depreciation of the assignat was worsening problems: in November and December, the currency's cash return dipped below 1 per cent of its face value, bringing a comic aspect to many exchanges and inducing street beggars to decline alms in paper form.

French

Etymology

From assign(er) +‎ -at.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /asiɲa/

Noun

assignat m ‎(plural assignats)

1. (historical) assignat

Latin

Verb

assignat

1. third-person singular present active indicative of assignō