Pl. soldi (also 7 souldyes). [It.:—L. solidum: see SOL sb.3] An Italian coin and money of account, the twentieth part of a lira, now equal in value to an English halfpenny.
1599. Hakluyt, Voy., II. I. 110. You may buy them for 10. Carchies, which coine are 4. to a Venetian Soldo, which is peny farthing the dozen.
1617. Moryson, Itin., I. 256. A Pigion for 7 soldi;… one soldo contents a Porter for bringing your victuals from the market.
1636. Recorde’s Ground Arts, 133. A shilling, which is 2 Souldyes, and 20 Souldyes a Lieure of Venice, which is a pound sterling.
1787. Beckford, Italy, etc. (1805), I. 124. Four soldi a day, when the Duomo was built, were equal to twenty at present.
1841. Browning, Pippa Passes, iv. Poems (1905), 187. Not one soldo shall escape me.
1883. trans. Villari’s Machiavelli, II. v. IV. 4. The crowd of Florentines … stripped him of every soldo.
