Hist. Also in English or semi-English form 7 luidore, 8 lewi(s)dore, loui(s)dore. [F. louis d’or, lit. ‘gold louis’; see prec.] A gold coin issued in the reign of Louis XIII. and subsequently till the time of Louis XVI.
When first coined in 1640 its weight was 103·273 grains. In 1717 its legal value in England was fixed at 17s. In the Bourbon reigns following the Restoration the name was transferred to the 20-franc piece or Napoleon.
1689. Lond. Gaz., No. 2495/4. Lost … a Silk Purse,… therein two 5l. pieces of Gold, 13 or 14 Guinea’s, and 3 Luidores. Ibid. (1691), No. 2643/4. The Ring is of Gold,… of the value of about 50 Lewis d’Or’s.
1702. Farquhar, Inconstant, I. i. Wks. 1892, I. 335. He has ordered me to bespeak a dinner for us at Rousseau’s at a louis-d’or a head.
1756. Nugent, Gr. Tour, III. 43. Spanish pistoles and French lewidores are current in this journey.
1832. Motley, Corr. (1889), I. ii. 14. My room for the rest of this Semester … costs me three louis d’or and a half.
1883. Stevenson, Treas. Isl., I. iv. The coins were of all countries and sizes—doubloons, and louis-d’ors, and guineas.
