1. cash

The English word cash was first recorded in the late 1500s and comes through the French casse (“case, box”) from the Latin capsa (“case” or “coffer”), which both refer to things you keep money in.

2. green

In the US, money is often referred to as green or the green because paper bills are—wait for it—green!

3. greenbacks

The slang greenbacks for US paper bills dates back to the Civil War when the government began using green ink on the reverse side of banknotes to attempt to thwart counterfeiters.

4. lettuce and cabbage

These two vegan-friendly words for money date all the way back to the early 1900s and yet again reference the green color of dollar bills.

5. coin

The slang coin is used in both the United States and the United Kingdom to refer generally to money, and not just the varieties of metal coins that have been used as currency for thousands of years.

6. bills

Dollar bills have been issued by the US government since 1862, but the slang bill is often used to specifically mean $100.

7. cheddar

There are several theories as to why the cheesy slang cheddar is used to refer to money. According to the most popular theory, cheddar referred to government cheese found in welfare packages. From there, it was used to refer to money (i.e. benefits) from the government rather than the cheese.

8. scratch

The American slang scratch for money can be traced back to 1914, but nobody knows why this itchy word was first used to refer to cash.

9. bank

The term bank has been used to refer to money—and not just the place we keep it—since the 1500s. Its use to indicate a large sum of money can be traced back to at least the 1990s.

10. bread

The word bread has been used as American slang for money since at least the 1930s. Food is among the most important reasons people need money, and the slang bread likely refers to the fact that bread is one of the most commonly eaten (and purchased) foods.

11. dough

Interestingly, the slang dough for money predates the slang bread, as it has been used in this sense since at least the 1830s. However, it is commonly thought that using dough for money is related to the use of bread as “livelihood” (“to earn one’s bread”) that has been attested since the 1700s.

12. bacon

The word bacon is used to refer to money or wealth in phrases such as bring home the bacon. This phrase has been recorded since 1924, and it is widely believed to refer to a game played at county fairs in which a person would be awarded a greased pig if they could successfully catch it.