Adjacent Words

Farthing definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

F'ARTHING, n.
1. The fourth of a penny; a small copper coin of Great Britain, being the fourth of a penny in value. In America we have no coin of this kind. We however use the word to denote the fourth part of a penny in value, but the penny is of different value from the English penny, and different in different states. It is becoming obsolete, with the old denominations of money.
2. Farthings, in the plural, copper coin.
3. Very small price or value. It is not worth a farthing, that is, it is of very little worth, or worth nothing.
4. A division of land. [Not now used.]
Thirty acres make a farthing-land; nine farthings a Cornish acre; and four Cornish acres a knight's fee.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a former British bronze coin worth a quarter of a penny

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English ferthing, from Old English f?orthung (akin to Middle High German vierdunc fourth part), from Old English f?ortha fourth Date: before 12th century 1. a. a former British monetary unit equal to 1/4 of a penny b. a coin representing this unit 2. something of small value ; mite

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 (in the UK) a coin and monetary unit formerly worth a quarter of an old penny. Usage: Withdrawn in 1961. 2 the least possible amount (it doesn't matter a farthing). Etymology: OE feorthing f. feortha fourth

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Farthing Far"thing, n. [OE. furthing, AS. fe['o]r[eth]ung, fr. fe['o]r[eth]a fourth, fe['o]r, fe['o]wer, four. See Four.] 1. The fourth of a penny; a small copper coin of Great Britain, being a cent in United States currency. 2. A very small quantity or value. [Obs.] In her cup was no farthing seen of grease. --Chaucer. 3. A division of land. [Obs.] Thirty acres make a farthing land; nine farthings a Cornish acre; and four Cornish acres a knight's fee. --R. Carew.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(farthings) A farthing was a small British coin which was worth a quarter of an old penny. N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Matt. 10:29; Luke 12:6. Greek assarion, i.e., a small _as_, which was a Roman coin equal to a tenth of a denarius or drachma, nearly equal to a halfpenny of our money.

(2.) Matt. 5:26; Mark 12:42 (Gr. kodrantes), the quadrant, the fourth of an _as_, equal to two lepta, mites. The lepton (mite) was the very smallest copper coin.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

far'-thing: The rendering of two words in the Greek of the New Testament, assarion, and kodrantes, Latin quadrans. The assarion was the tenth part of the denarius, and hence in value about one penny or two centuries The quadrans was the fourth part of the Roman as, and worth only about three mills, or less than the English farthing, and is the only term rendered farthing by the American Standard Revised Version. It occurs in Mt 5:26 and Mr 12:42, while assarion, which occurs in Mt 10:29 and Lu 12:6, is rendered "penny" by the American Standard Revised Version.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Quarter of a penny.

Moby Thesaurus

a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot, ace, atom, bagatelle, bauble, bawbee, bean, bibelot, bit, brass farthing, button, cent, crown, curio, dab, dole, dollar, dot, dram, dribble, driblet, dwarf, farce, feather, fig, fiver, fleabite, fleck, florin, flyspeck, folderol, fourpence, fourpenny, fourth, fourth part, fragment, fribble, frippery, gaud, gewgaw, gimcrack, gobbet, grain, granule, groat, guinea, hair, half crown, half dollar, halfpenny, handful, hill of beans, iota, jest, joke, jot, kickshaw, knickknack, knickknackery, little, little bit, mag, meg, minikin, minim, minimum, minutiae, mite, mockery, modicum, molecule, molehill, monkey, mote, new pence, np, nutshell, one-fourth, ounce, p, particle, pebble, pence, penny, peppercorn, picayune, pin, pinch, pinch of snuff, pinprick, pittance, point, pony, pound, quart, quarter, quartern, quarto, quid, rap, red cent, row of pins, rush, scruple, shilling, shit, sixpence, smidgen, smitch, snap, sneeshing, sou, speck, spoonful, spot, straw, tenner, thimbleful, threepence, threepenny bit, thrippence, tiny bit, tittle, toy, trifle, trifling amount, trinket, trivia, triviality, tuppence, twenty-five cents, twenty-five percent, two bits, two cents, twopence, whim-wham, whit