Emily Dickinson Lexicon

DOL'LAR, n. [G. thaler; D. daalder; Dan. and Sw. daler; Sp. dalera; Russ. taler; said to be from Dale, the town where it was first coined.]

A silver coin of Spain and of the United States, of the value of one hundred cents, or four shillings and sixpence sterling. The dollar seems to have been originally a German coin, and in different parts of Germany the name is given to coins of different values.