guinea

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 See also

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈgɪni/

[edit] Etymology

From Guinea, the country in West Africa. The name comes from the Berber term "aginaw" via Portuguese; it originally meant "black" (or, in context, "land of the blacks.")

[edit] Noun

guinea (plural guineas)

1. (US, slang, pejorative) A person of Italian descent.
2. (UK) A gold coin originally worth twenty shillings and minted for use in England's trade with Africa; later (from 1717 until the adoption of decimal currency) standardised at a value of twenty-one shillings.
   • 1883: Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Georges, and Louises, doubloons and double guineas and moidores and sequins, the pictures of all the kings of Europe for the last hundred years, strange Oriental pieces stamped with what looked like wisps of string or bits of spider's web, round pieces and square pieces, and pieces bored through the middle, as if to wear them round your neck—nearly every variety of money in the world must, I think, have found a place in that collection...

3. a ground-foraging bird of Africa, of the family Numididea. Domesticated strains include Pearl, White, Buff, Blue, Purple and Lavender. Also called guinea fowl.

[edit] See also

• dago
• wop
• greaseball
• goombah