noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈdɹæk.mə/
/ˈdɹɑk.mə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ækmə
rhymes with -ɑːkmə
CMU ARPABET:D R AE1 K M AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The currency of Greece in ancient times and again from 1832 until 2001, with the symbol ₯, since replaced by the euro.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
2008, Philip Matyszak, Ancient Athens on Five Drachmas a Day (title of the book)
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A coin worth one drachma.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An Ancient Greek weight of about 66.5 grains, or 4.3 grams.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A later Greek weight equal to a gram.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
formerly the basic unit of money in Greece
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Greek drachma
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: Greek monetary unit
6
noun
Meaning 6
a unit of apothecary weight equal to an eighth of an ounce or to 60 grains
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dram, drachm
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: apothecaries' unit, apothecaries' weight
History
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin drachma and its etymon Doric Greek δρᾰχμᾱ́ (drăkhmā́). Doublet of dram, diram, dirham, dirhem, adarme, and dam.
Across languages
Translations
57 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
dhrahmi
— currency
Arabic:
دِرَاخْمَا
(dirāḵmā)
— currency
Armenian:
դրախմա
(draxma)
— currency
Asturian:
dracma
— currency
Bactrian:
δραχμο
(drakhmo)
— currency
Belarusian:
дра́хма
(dráxma)
— currency
Bulgarian:
дра́хма
(dráhma)
— currency
Catalan:
dracma
— currency
Chinese Mandarin:
德拉克馬 /德拉克马
(délākèmǎ)
— currency
