- published: 17 Aug 2014
- views: 86
The rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly those of Burma and Afghanistan.
In the Maldives, the unit of currency is known as the rufiyah, which is a cognate of the Hindi rupiya. The Indian rupees (₹) and Pakistani rupees (₨) are subdivided into one hundred paise (singular paisa) or pice. The Mauritian and Sri Lankan rupees subdivide into 100 cents. The Nepalese rupee subdivides into one hundred paisas (both singular and plural) or four sukas or two mohors.
The Hindi word rūpaya is derived from the Sanskrit word rūpya, which means "wrought silver, a coin of silver", in origin an adjective meaning "shapely", with a more specific meaning of "stamped, impressed", whence "coin". It is derived from the noun rūpa "shape, likeness, image". The word rūpa is being further identified as having sprung from the Dravidian (proto-Tamil) root uruppu, which means "a member of the body".