{{Short description|Subunit of Turkish Lira}} {{Redirect|Grush|a studio album by μ-Ziq|Grush (album)}} {{More footnotes needed|date=August 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
[[File:50kr obverse.png|thumb|upright=.75|right|Current Turkish 50 kuruş coin]] '''Kuruş''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|r|uː|ʃ}} {{respell|kə|ROOSH}};<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|publisher=Chambers|year=2003|isbn=0-550-10105-5|edition=9th|chapter=kurus}}</ref> {{IPA|tr|kuˈɾuʃ}}), also '''gurush''', '''ersh''', '''gersh''', '''grush''', '''grosha''', and '''grosi''',<ref name="Handbook of Cyprus">[https://books.google.com/books?id=2oTVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA111 ''A Handbook of Cyprus'', p. 111]</ref> are all names for currency denominations in and around the territories formerly part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The variation in the name stems from the different languages it is used in ([[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Amharic language|Amharic]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], and [[Greek language|Greek]]) and the different transcriptions into the [[Latin alphabet]]. In European languages, the kuruş was known as the '''[[piastre]]'''.<ref name="Handbook of Cyprus" />
Today the kuruş ({{abbr|pl|plural}}.{{nbsp}}''{{lang|tr|kuruşlar}}'') is a Turkish currency subunit, with one [[Turkish lira]] equal to 100 kuruş as of the [[Revaluation of the Turkish Lira|2005 revaluation of the lira]]. Until the 1844 subdivision of the former [[Ottoman lira|Ottoman gold lira]], the kuruş was the standard unit of currency within the [[Ottoman Empire]], and was subdivided into 40 ''[[Para (currency)|para]]'' or 120 ''[[akçe]]''. One kuruş remained equal to 40 para during the First Turkish lira,<ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Para, Turkey |url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces6393.html |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=en.numista.com |language=en}}</ref> said lira lasting from 1923 till its 2005's revaluation.
== Name == {{anchor|Etymology}}The [[Turkish language|Turkish]] word ''kuruş'' ({{langx|ota|قروش}}, ''kurûş''); {{langx|el|γρόσι}}, {{lang|el-Latn|grosi}}; plural {{lang|el|γρόσια}}, {{lang|el-Latn|grosia}}) is derived from the [[French language|French]] ''[[Gros (coinage)|gros]]'' ("heavy"), which itself is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''grossus'' ("thick").{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} It is cognate with the [[German language|German]] ''[[Groschen]]'', [[Polish language|Polish]] ''grosz'' and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] ''garas''.
== History == The Ottoman ''kuruş'' was introduced in 1688. It was initially a large [[silver]] piece (similar to the European [[thaler]]s issued by the Ottomans), approximately equal to the [[French écu]], or, from other sources, to the [[Spanish dollar]]. It was worth 40 ''[[Para (currency)|para]]''. In 1844, following sustained [[debasement]], the [[gold]] ''[[Turkish lira|lira]]'' was introduced, worth 100 kuruş. During the late 18th to early 19th centuries it was further reduced to a [[Billon (alloy)|billon]] coin weighing less than 3 grams.
As the Ottoman Empire broke up, several successor states retained the kuruş as a denomination. These included [[Egypt]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]] and [[Turkey]] itself. Others, including [[Jordan]] and [[Sudan]], adopted the kuruş as a denomination when they established their own currencies.
At the beginning of the 19th century, silver coins were in circulation for 1 akçe, 1, 5, 10 and 20 para, 1, 2 and {{frac|2|1|2}} kuruş, together with gold coins denominated in ''zeri mahbub'' (3,5 kurush) and ''[[Sultani (coin)|altin]]''. As the silver coins were debased, other denominations appeared: 30 para, {{frac|1|1|2}}, 3, 5 and 6 kuruş. The final coinage issued before the currency reform consisted of billon 1, 10 and 20 para, and silver {{frac|1|1|2}}, 3 and 6 kuruş.
In 1844, the Turkish gold lira was introduced as the new standard denomination. It was divided into 100 silver kuruş and the kuruş continued to circulate until the 1970s.
Kuruş eventually became obsolete due to the [[chronic inflation]] in Turkey in the late 1970s. A currency reform on 1 January 2005 provided its return as {{frac|1|100}} of the new lira.
== See also == {{Portal|Money}} *[[Groschen]] *[[Gros (coinage)]] *[[Groat (coin)]] *[[Venetian grosso]] *[[Ottoman lira]] *[[Turkish lira]] *[[Egyptian pound]] *[[Jordanian dinar]] *[[Palestine pound]] *[[Saudi riyal]] *[[Sudanese pound]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== Bibliography == {{refbegin}} * {{numis cite SCWC|date=1991}} {{refend}}
== External links == * [http://www.osmanliparalari.com http://www.osmanliparalari.com] Everything about Ottoman coins {{in lang|tr}} * [http://www.ottomancoins.com/ Ottoman Empire coins]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurus}} [[Category:Currencies of Europe]] [[Category:Coins of Turkey]] [[Category:Currencies of Asia]] [[Category:Turkish words and phrases]] [[Category:Culture of the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Currencies of the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Modern obsolete currencies]]