Coin of Pope Pius IX
Today’s Word of the Day comes from the annals of Romanesco, the Italian language used in the past in Rome, but no longer spoken today. (Not to be confused with Roman slang, or Romanaccio, Romanesco was an actual dialect spoken).
Piotta means 100, or a denomination of 100, in a monetary sense. It was originally used when referring to liras, but now it is used in reference to euros.
I couldn’t find the etymology of this word, just a discussion forum on Word Reference, an online dictionary. There is however mention that perhaps the word came from Pope Pius IX, or Papa Pio IX in Italian. Apparently he is the first person to introduce the 100-lira coin in Rome, and subsequently, the denomination was named after him.
Example:
‘Ho preso una piotta da mamma, offro da bere a tutti!’ – I took a 100 euros from mom, drinks on me!
