acronyms - What does “l. s. d.” stand for?


Here is the original text from Lord Macaulay’s History of England:



They are the men of double entry, magnifying routine. In business they have added mechanical device to mechanical device, they have put wind, water, steam, and electricity into subjection; they have done most of the reckoning in England, and their brains are hieroglyphed with l. s. d.



Source: Macaulay, Thomas Babington. The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1901. xviii. Print.



Answer



Given the location and the period, I think it's likely to be a commonly-used variant of "£sd" for "pounds, shillings, and pence" - that is, money. The abbreviation comes from the Latin librae, solidi, denarii.


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