Drachm

Drachma, (drăm; drăk'mah.) [FromGr. dra omai, I clutch with the hand; hence, literally, a handful.] (Numis.) Among the anc. Greeks, a coin of the value of 20 cents American. It weighed 66.5 gr., and contained 65.4 gr. pure silver. The above stood as the unit of the Grecian currency, but its value varied according to time and place. The name was also given to a weight equal to the 100th part of a mina, or abt. 4 OZ. The D. is also the adopted name of the modern Greek unit of money, in value about 18 cents. As a weight, the D. (or dram, as it is sometimes written)belongs both to the avoirdupois and apothecaries' scale; being in the first-named equal to 27 gr. troy, and in the latter to 60 gr. troy. [s. 300]