What is "rial"

Rial \Ri"al\, n. A Spanish coin. See Real. [Obs.]

Rial \Ri*al"\, a. Royal. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.

Rial \Ri"al\, n. [From Royal.] A gold coin formerly current in England, of the value of ten shillings sterling in the reign of Henry VI., and of fifteen shillings in the reign of Elizabeth. [Spelt also ryal.]
--Brande & C.

n. 1 The official currency of Iran, Oman, and Yemen. 2 (context historical English) An old gold coin of England.

1. n. the basic unit of money in Yemen; equal to 100 fils [syn: Yemeni rial]

2. the basic unit of money in Oman [syn: riyal-omani, Omani rial]

3. the basic unit of money in Iran [syn: Iranian rial]

Rial or RIAL may refer to:

• Rial (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name)
• Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning, McGill University
• Rial Racing, a German Formula One team that raced between 1988 and 1989

In currency, a rial or riyal ( Arabic: ريال , Persian : ریال riyāl, of Portuguese origin but also used in middle eastern countries) may refer to:

• Iranian rial, the currency of Iran
• Omani rial, the currency of Oman
• Yemeni rial, the currency of Yemen
• Moroccan rial, a former currency of Morocco
• Tunisian rial, a former currency of Tunisia
• The Hejaz riyal
• The Qatari riyal
• The Saudi riyal
• A popular nickname for the 20- piastres Egyptian coin

Rial is a surname, family name, or last name (i.e., apellido in Spanish). The surname "Rial" is a very old family name and people with that last name can be found in small numbers in several countries of the western world that use the English language (e.g., Scotland, Canada, The United States) and found in significant numbers in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, namely, Spain, several Caribbean countries, and in several North and South American countries. The surname "Rial" is correctly pronounced in modern English like the English words "dial" and "vial" with the accent-stress placed on the first vowel of the diphthong "ia" (i.e., the letter "i"). The surname is correctly pronounced in modern Spanish like the Spanish words "dial" and "vial" where the accent-stress is placed on the final vowel of the diphthong (i.e., the letter "a") which proceeds the final consonant (i.e., the Spanish letter "ele").

Strong speculation indicates that the surname Rial as described here had its origin in the Celtic region of the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman occupation of Spain which occurred from about 140 BCE until about 400 CE. This Celtic region which is now called Galicia is located in the northwestern territory of European Spain and it was formerly named Gallaecia by the Roman occupiers. Galicia is one of the four Autonomous Regions in Spain and Spanish Celtic roots extend beyond Galicia into the western end of The Asturias (one of the four Autonomous Regions) and also into northeastern Portugal.