Greek drachma Greek drachma Drachma ( , ; pl. "drachmae" or "drachmas") was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: It was also a small unit of weight. The name "drachma" is derived from the verb (, "(I) grasp"). It is believed that the same word with the meaning of "handful" or "handle" is found in Linear B tablets of the Mycenean Pylos. Initially a drachma was a fistful (a "grasp") of six "oboloí" or "obeloí" (metal sticks, literally "spits") used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC and being a form of "bullion": bronze,
Language and the euro 1999 with the motivation that "euro is a masculine noun". But the issue was then re-examined many times. Finally, in 2001 the consensus of the Accademia coalesced in favour of invariability. The rationale was based on the fact that abbreviated words originating from a longer word (for example "auto" from "automobile" (car) or "moto" from "motocicletta" (motorbike)) do not have a plural form, as well as the fact that the word "euro" is considered an abbreviation of the word "Eurovaluta" (European currency) . In 2002 an amendment to the financial act was proposed to adopt "euri" as the plural form