mahbub

See also: maħbub

English

Alternative forms

• mahboob

Etymology

From Arabic مَحْبُوب (maḥbūb, “gold coin; beloved”).

Noun

mahbub (plural mahbubs or mahbub)

1. A gold coin used in the Ottoman Empire.

   Synonym: zermahbub

   • 1783, Sauveur Lusignan, A history of the Revolution of Ali Bey against the Ottoman Porte, page 119:

     His ready cash consisted of eight hundred thousand mahbub and funduclys; the rest of his treasure was in jewels, to the amount of about six million of ducats.

   • 1811, Patrick Kelly, The universal cambist, and commercial instructor, page 83:

     The only coins allowed by the Turkish government to be struck at Cairo are the Mahbub (or Zermahbub) Sequins, and Medini.

   • 1819, Abraham Rees, The Cyclopædia: Or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature:

     At Grand Cairo in Egypt, contracts are made in funducli and mahbub sequins; the former are reckoned at 146 medini, and 3 mahbubs are equal to 4 pataccas, so that the mahbub is worth 120 medini.