PENNY

penny, cent, centime

(noun) a coin worth one-hundredth of the value of the basic unit

penny

(noun) a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

penny (plural pennies or pence or pens)

(historical) In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a copper coin worth 1/240 of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation. Abbreviation: d.

In the United Kingdom, a copper coin worth 1/100 of a pound sterling. Abbreviation: p.

(historical) In Ireland, a coin worth 1/100 of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.

In the US and Canada, a one-cent coin, worth 1/100 of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢.

In various countries, a small-denomination copper or brass coin.

A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per penny. Abbreviation: d.

Money in general.

Usage notes

The plural pence is only used as a unit of currency. The plural pennies is used for other cases, in particular when referring to multiple individual coins.

Compounds (twopence, threepence, fourpence and so on up to tenpence, but not eleven pence or any higher) should be read with the stress on the first syllable and a reduced /ə/ in pence. Thus /ˈtʌpəns/, /ˈθɹʌpəns/, /ˈfɔːpəns/ and so on.

Synonyms

• (1/240 of a pound sterling): old penny

• (1/100 of a pound sterling): new penny (old-fashioned)

• (one-cent coin): cent

Verb

penny (third-person singular simple present pennies, present participle pennying, simple past and past participle pennied)

(slang) To jam a door shut by inserting pennies between the doorframe and the door.

(electronics) To circumvent the tripping of an electrical circuit breaker by the dangerous practice of inserting a coin in place of a fuse in a fuse socket.

Anagrams

• Pynne

Etymology

Proper noun

Penny

A diminutive of the female given name Penelope.

A surname.

Anagrams

• Pynne

Source: Wiktionary

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Pen"ny, a. Etym: [Perh. a corruption of pun, for pound.]

Definition: Denoting pound weight for one thousand; -- used in combination, with respect to nails; as, tenpenny nails, nails of which one thousand weight ten pounds.

Pen*ny, n.; pl. Pennies or Pence (. Pennies denotes the number of coins; pence the amount of pennies in value. Etym: [OE. peni, AS. penig, pening, pending; akin to D. penning, OHG. pfenning, pfenting, G. pfennig, Icel. penningr; of uncertain origin.]

1. An English coin, formerly of copper, now of bronze, the twelfth part of an English shilling in account value, and equal to four farthings, or about two cents; -- usually indicated by the abbreviation d. (the initial of denarius).

Note: "The chief Anglo-Saxon coin, and for a long period the only one, corresponded to the denarius of the Continent . . . [and was] called penny, denarius, or denier." R. S. Poole. The ancient silver penny was worth about three pence sterling (see Pennyweight). The old Scotch penny was only one twelfth the value of the English coin. In the United States the word penny is popularly used for cent.

2. Any small sum or coin; a groat; a stiver. Shak.

3. Money, in general; as, to turn an honest penny. What penny hath Rome borne, What men provided, what munition sent Shak.

4. (Script.)

Definition: See Denarius. Penny cress (Bot.), an annual herb of the Mustard family, having round, flat pods like silver pennies (Thlaspi arvense). Dr. Prior.

– Penny dog (Zoöl.), a kind of shark found on the South coast of Britain: the tope.

– Penny father, a penurious person; a niggard. [Obs.] Robinson (More's Utopia).

– Penny grass (Bot.), pennyroyal. [R.] -- Penny post, a post carrying a letter for a penny; also, a mail carrier.

– Penny wise, wise or prudent only in small matters; saving small sums while losing larger; -- used chiefly in the phrase, penny wise and pound foolish.

Pen"ny, a.

Definition: Worth or costing one penny.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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