Where "Quid" Comes From
"Quid" is British slang for one pound sterling, recorded in English from the 1680s — making it one of the older surviving slang words for money. Its origin is unclear, but the most common suggestion is a connection to the Latin "quid," meaning "what" or "something" — as in "quid pro quo" (something for something). No documentary evidence confirms this etymology, and the word may simply have emerged from the general vocabulary of London street and commercial life that produced many other money terms.
In Australia, "quid" referred to the Australian pound until decimalisation on 14 February 1966, when the pound was replaced by the Australian dollar at a rate of two dollars to the pound. The Australian expression "not the full quid" — meaning mentally unwell or not very sharp — is one of the few surviving traces of the word in everyday Australian English. The phrase predates decimalisation but has outlasted the currency itself by decades, long after most Australians have any practical sense of what a quid was worth.
Source:
"Can you lend me a few quid until payday?"
How Aussies Actually Use It
Today "quid" just means money or dollars generally, most often heard in set phrases like "make a quid" (earn a living) or "a few quid" (a modest sum).
The phrase "not the full quid" is a separate, well-known Australian idiom meaning someone isn't quite right in the head — worth knowing so you don't mix it up with the money sense.
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