[발췌] 영국 파운드화의 공식 명칭과 통속 명칭

자료: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_sterling

• CF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_silver
• CF: http://zircon.tistory.com/37

※ 발췌 (excerpts  as of Aug 28, 2014):

The full, official name, pound sterling, (plural: pounds sterling) is used mainly in formal contexts and also when it is necessary to distinguish the United Kingdom currency from other currencies with the same name. 

• Otherwise the term pound is normally used. 
• The currency name is sometimes abbreviated to just sterling, particularly in the wholesale financial markets, but not when referring to specific amounts; for example, "Payment is accepted in sterling" but never "These cost five sterling". 
• The abbreviations "ster." or "stg." are sometimes used. 

The term "British pound" is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders. The origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as "cable dealers".[11]

There is apparent convergence of opinion regarding the origin of the term "pound sterling", toward its derivation from the name of a small Norman silver coin,[12] and away from its association with Easterlings (Germanic traders) or other etymologies.[13][14] 

Hence, the Oxford English Dictionary (and sources derived therefrom)[15][16] state that the “most plausible” etymology is derivation from the Old English steorra for “star” with the added diminutive suffix "-ling", to mean "little star" and to refer to a silver penny of the English Normans.[12] As another established source notes,[17] the compound expression was then derived:

silver coins known as "sterlings" were issued in the Saxon kingdoms, 240 of them being minted from a pound of silver... Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in "pounds of sterlings," a phrase later shortened...

—Encyclopedia Brittanica, entry "pound sterling"

However, the perceived narrow window of the issuance of this coin, and the fact that coin designs changed frequently in the period in question, led Philip Grierson to reject this in favor of a more complex theory.[18] For further discussion of the etymology of "sterling", see sterling silver.

The currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar (as on sterling bank notes), though a version with a double cross-bar (₤) is also sometimes seen. This symbol derives from medieval Latin documents; the Roman words libra, solidus, and denarius (£sd) referred to pounds, shillings and pence[17] in the British pre-decimal (duodecimal) currency system and the black-letter "L" was the abbreviation for libra, the basic Roman unit of weight.

The ISO 4217 currency code is GBP. Occasionally, the abbreviation "UKP" is used but this is non-standard because the ISO 3166 country code for United Kingdom is GB (see Terminology of the British Isles). The Crown dependencies use their own (non-ISO) codes: GGP (Guernsey pound), JEP (Jersey pound) and IMP (Isle of Man pound). Stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX (sometimes GBp), when listing stock prices.

A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, which is singular and plural, except in the common phrase "Quids in!" The term may have come via Italian immigrants from "scudo", the name for a number of coins used in Italy until the 19th century; or from Latin 'quid' via the common phrase quid pro quo, literally, "what for what," or, figuratively, "An equal exchange or substitution".[19]