Adjacent Words

Penny definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PEN'NY, n. plu. pennies or pence. Pennies denotes the number of coins; pence the amount of pennies in value.
1. An ancient English silver coin; but now an imaginary money of account, twelve of which are equal to a shilling. It is the radical denomination from which English coin is numbered.
2. In ancient English statutes, any or all silver money.
3. Proverbially, a small sum. He will not lend a penny.
4. Money in general.
Be sure to turn the penny.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound
2: a coin worth one-hundredth of the value of the basic unit [syn: penny, cent, centime]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural pennies or pence) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Old English penning, penig; akin to Old High German pfenning, a coin Date: before 12th century 1. a. a monetary unit of the United Kingdom formerly equal to 1/240 pound but now equal to 1/100 pound b. a similar monetary unit of any of various other countries in or formerly in the Commonwealth of Nations — see pound at money table c. a coin representing one penny 2. denarius 3. plural pennies cent 4. a trivial amount 5. a piece or sum of money <that will cost a pretty penny>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. for separate coins -ies, for a sum of money pence) 1 a British coin and monetary unit equal to one-hundredth of a pound. Usage: Abbr.: p. 2 hist. a former British bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one-two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound. Usage: Abbr.: d. 3 US colloq. a one-cent coin. 4 Bibl. a denarius. Phrases and idioms: in for a penny, in for a pound an exhortation to total commitment to an undertaking. like a bad penny continually returning when unwanted. pennies from heaven unexpected benefits. penny black the first adhesive postage stamp (1840, value one penny). penny cress Bot. a plant, Thlaspi arvense, with flat round pods. penny dreadful Brit. a cheap sensational comic or story-book. the penny drops colloq. one begins to understand at last. penny farthing Brit. an early type of bicycle with one large and one small wheel. a penny for your thoughts a request to a thoughtful person to confide in the speaker. penny-in-the-slot (of a machine) activated by a coin pushed into a slot. penny-pincher a niggardly person. penny-pinching n. meanness. --adj. mean. penny post Brit. hist. the system of carrying letters etc. at a standard charge of 1d. regardless of distance. penny whistle a tin pipe with six holes giving different notes. penny wise too careful in saving small amounts. penny wise and pound foolish mean in small expenditures but wasteful of large amounts. a pretty penny a large sum of money. two a penny almost worthless though easily obtained. Etymology: OE penig, penning f. Gmc, perh. rel. to PAWN(2)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Penny Pen"ny, a. [Perh. a corruption of pun, for pound.] Denoting pound weight for one thousand; -- used in combination, with respect to nails; as, tenpenny nails, nails of which one thousand weight ten pounds.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Penny Pen*ny, n.; pl. Penniesor Pence. Pennies denotes the number of coins; pence the amount of pennies in value. [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.) 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 (Zo["o]l.), 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Penny Pen"ny, a. Worth or costing one penny.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pennies, pence) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: The form 'pence' is used for the plural of meaning 1. 1. In Britain, a penny is one hundredth of a pound, or a coin worth this amount of money. Cider also goes up by a penny a pint while sparkling wine will cost another eight pence a bottle. ...a shiny newly minted penny. N-COUNT 2. A penny is a British coin used before 1971 that was worth one twelfth of a shilling. N-COUNT 3. A penny is one cent, or a coin worth one cent. (AM INFORMAL) Unleaded gasoline rose more than a penny a gallon. N-COUNT 4. If you say, for example, that you do not have a penny, or that something does not cost a penny, you are emphasizing that you do not have any money at all, or that something did not cost you any money at all. The Brilliantons paid their rent on time and did not owe him a penny... N-SING: a N [emphasis] 5. If you say the penny dropped, you mean that someone suddenly understood or realized something. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL) PHRASE: V inflects 6. Things that are said to be two a penny or ten a penny are not valuable or interesting because they are very common and easy to find. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use a dime a dozen) Leggy blondes are two a penny in Hollywood. PHRASE: v-link PHR

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Gr. denarion), a silver coin of the value of about 7 1/2d. or 8d. of our present money. It is thus rendered in the New Testament, and is more frequently mentioned than any other coin (Matt. 18:28; 20:2, 9, 13; Mark 6:37; 14:5, etc.). It was the daily pay of a Roman soldier in the time of Christ. In the reign of Edward III. an English penny was a labourer's day's wages. This was the "tribute money" with reference to which our Lord said, "Whose image and superscription is this?" When they answered, "Caesar's," he replied, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pen'-i (denarion; Latin denarius (which see)): the American Standard Revised Version (Mt 18:28; 20:2,9,10,13, etc.) renders it by "shilling" except in Mt 22:19; Mr 12:15 and Lu 20:24, where it retains the original term as it refers to a particular coin.

See DENARIUS; MONEY.

Moby Thesaurus

C, C-note, G, G-note, bawbee, buck, cartwheel, cent, century, copper, crown, dime, dollar, dollar bill, farthing, fifty cents, fin, fish, five cents, five hundred dollars, five-dollar bill, five-hundred-dollar bill, five-spot, fiver, florin, four bits, fourpence, fourpenny, frogskin, grand, groat, guinea, half G, half a C, half crown, half dollar, half grand, halfpenny, hundred-dollar bill, iron man, mag, meg, mill, mite, monkey, new pence, nickel, np, p, pence, pony, pound, quarter, quid, red cent, sawbuck, shilling, silver dollar, sixpence, skin, smacker, ten cents, ten-spot, tenner, thousand dollars, thousand-dollar bill, threepence, threepenny bit, thrippence, tuppence, twenty-dollar bill, twenty-five cents, two bits, two-dollar bill, two-spot, twopence, yard