Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(orig. US) money.

1838		A. Somerville Narrative of the British Auxiliary Legion [in Spain] 152: One would say, who had a good sum to receive, ‘never mind bein' particular, hand here the dinero (money); faith Saturday nicht’s come at last!’.
1856		Butte Record 29 Aug. 2/6: They pungled the dinero, and observed that, as it was cheap, they had a mind to play the ‘balance of the day out’ [DA].
1889		K. Munroe Golden Days of ’49 262: Me and my pard was scooping in a pile when three galoots [...] played it low down on us and vamosed with the dinero.
1897		A.H. Lewis Wolfville 148: The barkeep pays Boggs the dinero.
1907		S.E. White Arizona Nights 121: As fast as each one handed over his dust or dinero he made a rush for his cabin.
1914		Ade ‘The New Fable of the Lonesome Camp’ Ade’s Fables 261: After [...] the Collectors had brought in the Dinero, then Elam had to sit at a Mahogany Desk [...] and figure how much of the hard-earned Mazuma would be doled out to his greedy Employees.
1915		Van Loan ‘The Extra Man’ Buck Parvin 21: It’s the dough that counts with the dolls – the dinero; the iron men; the large, smilin’ yaller boys.
1925		D. Hammett ‘Corkscrew’ Story Omnibus (1966) 204: Try him out and we’ll talk dinero.
1935		F. Nebel ‘Winter Kill’ in Goulart (1967) 119: You said you didn’t want Parcell to drive home because he might crack himself up and you fellows would be out some dinero.
1942		L. Bennett ‘Jamaica Patoah’ in Jamaica Dialect Verses 1: When she sell me dun she sey / ‘Add dem up senorita, / For is hard fe intiende dis / Jamaica diniera’.
1947		W.D. Overholser Buckaroo’s Code (1948) 83: Claims he wants to make a big spread out of it, and he’s got the dinero to do it.
1959		C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 90: So it’s a touch? You need a bit dinero? Five pounds do?
1967		P. Thomas Down These Mean Streets (1970) 75: The bodega was a drop-off for the bolita runners, and I figured the day’s bread was in that bag. That was a lot of dinero.
1982		(con. 1970) J.M. Del Vecchio 13th Valley (1983) 26: Mama-san makes beaucoup dinero off my orders.
1994		J. Wambaugh Finnegan’s Week 255: I’m talking about big money. Robo bucks. Humungous dinero!
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 137: ‘When I went back to work and had some donero again, I fronted her about it’.
2001		‘Randy Everhard’ Tattoo of a Naked Lady 67: Coeds who needed denero.
2003		G. Tate Midnight Lightning 45: Sold at auction by Sotheby’s for mucho dinero.
2017		S.M. Jones August Snow [ebook] ‘You got some dinero, right?’.