Buck

Categories: Econ, Bonds, Regulations

A buck is a male deer.

Okay, it's also a term for one dollar, and a term to describe one hundred. You could say "a buck twenty" to describe $120. Be careful with that though. Make sure that whoever you're talking to knows you mean $120 and not $1.20.

And yes, this is where the term "buck" originally came from. One buckskin from trappers in the 18th century "U.S." (i.e. the land formerly owned by Native Americans) bought the equivalent of a then-dollar's worth of butter. And that stuff was hand-churned, baby.

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)