The slang name of the cheque given to those on social security (read welfare) in the United Kingdom.

Literally "turning" or "circle". Italian noun derived from the verb "girare", "to turn". Besides the literal original meaning you see in Giro d'Italia, Italy's big bicycle stage race, it's part of international banking lingo, used for checking accounts and the money transfers effected through them.

This (as well as a number of other expressions like agio) is a remnant of Italy's dominant role in trading during the renaissance age, when the country's merchants and moneylenders developed many of the finer points of the credit and money-shuffling business.

Since sending paper cheques is quite uncommon in Europe nowadays, a giro account is a quite basic necessity (since you cannot even recieve your salary without one) and frequently, if not daily, used by most Europeans.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.