penny

See also: Penny

English

A 2005 US penny

Etymology

From Middle English penny, peny, from Old English peniġ, penniġ, penning (“penny”), from Proto-West Germanic *panning, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz, of uncertain origin (see that page for theories). Doublet of pfennig.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛni/

• Audio (GA):

  (file)

• (pin–pen merger) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪni/
• (In compounds like twopenny, dated) IPA^(key): /pəni/
• Rhymes: -ɛni
• Hyphenation: pen‧ny

Noun

penny (plural pennies or pence or (obsolete) pens)

1. (historical) In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₂₄₀ of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: d.
   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0056:

     Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.

   • 1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 150:

     We had not proceeded very far across the south cantilever when we saw a penny lying beside the track, and another a short distance further on. We were to find several more pennies, and some half-pennies, before we reached the north shore. Inspector Bell explained that many passengers try to throw a coin into the Forth, for "good luck," while trains are crossing the bridge.

2. In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p.
3. (historical) In Ireland, a coin worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.
4. In the US and (formerly) Canada, a one-cent coin, worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢.
   • 2015 November 22, “Pennies”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 35, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

     Holy shit! A hundred and eleven pennies! At that point, that dog had more Lincoln in him than Mary Todd.

5. In various countries, a small-denomination copper or brass coin.
6. A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per penny. Abbreviation: d.
7. Money in general.

   to turn an honest penny

   • c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     What penny hath Rome borne, / What men provided, what munition sent?

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 or its value): cent

Derived terms

• a bad penny always comes back
• a bad penny always turns up
• a penny saved is a penny earned
• a penny saved is a penny gained
• a pound to a penny
• bad penny
• bright as a new penny
• clean as a new penny
• eight penny nail
• eightpenny nail
• eight-penny nail
• fourpenny nail
• four-penny nail
• four penny nail
• get-penny
• God's penny
• hearth-penny
• in for a penny, in for a pound
• jam penny
• luck penny
• pence
• penniless
• penny-a-line
• penny-a-liner
• penny-ante
• penny ante
• penny arcade
• penny bank
• Penny Black
• penny bun
• penny candy
• penny chew
• penny dog
• penny dreadful
• penny-dreadfulish
• penny-dreadfulism
• penny fall
• penny-farthing
• penny farthing
• penny-father
• penny for one's thoughts
• penny for them
• penny for your thoughts
• penny-gaff
• penny gaff
• penny gaffe
• penny grass
• penny-grass
• penny in the fusebox
• penny loafer
• penny mail
• penny packet
• penny-pinch
• penny-pincher
• penny pincher
• penny-pinching
• penny post
• penny pusher
• penny starver
• penny sterling
• penny stock
• penny sweet
• penny tray
• penny university
• penny wedding
• penny-wedding
• penny weed
• penny whip
• penny whistle
• penny wisdom
• penny-wise
• penny wise and pound foolish
• penny-wise and pound-foolish
• pennywort
• Peter's penny
• pitchpenny
• pretty penny
• push-penny
• Rome-penny
• scrape-penny
• six penny nail
• sixpenny nail
• six-penny nail
• sixteen penny nail
• sixteen-penny nail
• spear penny
• spear-penny
• spend a penny
• swarf-penny
• ten a penny
• ten-penny nail
• ten penny nail
• tenpenny nail
• the bad penny always comes back
• the bad penny always turns up
• the penny drops
• third penny
• tin penny
• toffee penny
• true-penny
• turn an honest penny
• twelve penny nail
• twelve-penny nail
• two a penny
• two ha'pennies for a penny
• watch the pennies
• wheat penny
• worth every penny

 

Descendants

Descendants of penny (noun) in other languages

• → Bulgarian: пени (peni)
• → Czech: penny
• → Dutch: penny
• → Finnish: penny
• → French: penny
• → German: Penny
• → Hebrew: פֶּנִי (péni)
• → Hindi: पेनी (penī)
• → Hungarian: penny
• → Japanese: ペニー (penī)
• → Korean: 페니 (peni)
• → Macedonian: пе́ни (péni)
• → Malay: peni
• → Maori: pene
• → Marathi: पेनी (penī)
• → Norman: pénîn
• → Norwegian:

  Norwegian Bokmål: penny

  Norwegian Nynorsk: penny

• → Portuguese: pêni (Brazil), péni (Portugal)
• → Russian: пе́нни (pénni)
• → Swahili: peni
• → Swedish: penny
• → Thai: เพนนี (peen-nii)
• → Turkish: peni
• → Uyghur: پەنى (peni)
• → Volapük: pänid

Translations

1/240 of a pound sterling or Irish pound

• Bulgarian: пени (bg) n (peni)
• Finnish: penny
• French: penny (fr) m
• Hindi: पेनी (hi) f (penī)
• Irish: pingin f
• Luhya: litong'olo
• Macedonian: пе́ни n (péni)
• Malay: peni
• Marathi: पेनी (penī)
• Norman: pénîn m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: penny m

  Nynorsk: ^{(please verify)} penny

• Portuguese: pêni (pt) m
• Russian: пе́нни (ru) n (pénni), пенс (ru) m (pens)
• Spanish: penique (es) m
• Swahili: peni (sw)
• Volapük: pänid (vo)
• Welsh: ceiniog (cy)

1/100 of a pound sterling or British pound

• Arabic: بِنْس m (bins)
• Bulgarian: пени (bg) n (peni)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 便士 (zh) (biànshì)

• Czech: cent (cs), penny (cs)
• Dutch: penny (nl) m
• Esperanto: penco
• Finnish: penny (fi)
• French: penny (fr) m
• German: Penny (de) m
• Hebrew: פֶּנִי (péni)
• Hindi: पेनी (hi) f (penī), पेन्स (hi) f pl (pens)
• Hungarian: penny (hu)
• Irish: pingin f, pinginí f pl, pingneacha f pl, pingineacha f pl (Cois Fharraige)
• Japanese: ペニー (penī)
• Korean: 페니 (peni)
• Macedonian: пе́ни n (péni)
• Malay: peni
• Maori: kapa, pene
• Marathi: पेनी (penī), पेन्स (pensa)
• Norman: pénîn m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: penny m

  Nynorsk: ^{(please verify)} penny

• Portuguese: pêni (pt) m (B), péni (pt) m (P)
• Russian: пе́нни (ru) n (pénni), пенс (ru) m (pens)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgillinn f
• Spanish: penique (es) m
• Swedish: penny (sv) c
• Thai: เพนนี (peen-nii)
• Turkish: peni (tr)
• Uyghur: پەنى (peni), پەنس (pens)
• Volapük: pänid (vo)
• Welsh: ceiniog (cy)

one-cent coin in US and Canada — see cent

See also

• pence § Descendants

Verb

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

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

   Zach and Ben had only been at college for a week when their door was pennied by the girls down the hall.

2. (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.
3. (Oxbridge slang) During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink with the expectation that they finish it (or some such variation thereof); commonly associated with crewdates at Oxford and swaps at Cambridge.

   You got pennied! Down it, fresher.

See also

• d (British penny)
• cent

Anagrams

• Pynne

Finnish

Etymology

< English penny

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpenːi/, [ˈpe̞nːi]

Noun

penny

1. (money) penny (division of a pound)

Declension

Inflection of penny (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		penny	pennyt
genitive		pennyn	pennyjen
partitive		pennyä	pennyjä
illative		pennyyn	pennyihin
		singular	plural
nominative		penny	pennyt
accusative	nom.	penny	pennyt
	gen.	pennyn
genitive		pennyn	pennyjen
partitive		pennyä	pennyjä
inessive		pennyssä	pennyissä
elative		pennystä	pennyistä
illative		pennyyn	pennyihin
adessive		pennyllä	pennyillä
ablative		pennyltä	pennyiltä
allative		pennylle	pennyille
essive		pennynä	pennyinä
translative		pennyksi	pennyiksi
abessive		pennyttä	pennyittä
instructive		—	pennyin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of penny (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative pennyni pennyni accusative nom. pennyni pennyni gen. pennyni genitive pennyni pennyjeni partitive pennyäni pennyjäni inessive pennyssäni pennyissäni elative pennystäni pennyistäni illative pennyyni pennyihini adessive pennylläni pennyilläni ablative pennyltäni pennyiltäni allative pennylleni pennyilleni essive pennynäni pennyinäni translative pennykseni pennyikseni abessive pennyttäni pennyittäni instructive — — comitative — pennyineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative pennysi pennysi accusative nom. pennysi pennysi gen. pennysi genitive pennysi pennyjesi partitive pennyäsi pennyjäsi inessive pennyssäsi pennyissäsi elative pennystäsi pennyistäsi illative pennyysi pennyihisi adessive pennylläsi pennyilläsi ablative pennyltäsi pennyiltäsi allative pennyllesi pennyillesi essive pennynäsi pennyinäsi translative pennyksesi pennyiksesi abessive pennyttäsi pennyittäsi instructive — — comitative — pennyinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative pennymme pennymme accusative nom. pennymme pennymme gen. pennymme genitive pennymme pennyjemme partitive pennyämme pennyjämme inessive pennyssämme pennyissämme elative pennystämme pennyistämme illative pennyymme pennyihimme adessive pennyllämme pennyillämme ablative pennyltämme pennyiltämme allative pennyllemme pennyillemme essive pennynämme pennyinämme translative pennyksemme pennyiksemme abessive pennyttämme pennyittämme instructive — — comitative — pennyinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative pennynne pennynne accusative nom. pennynne pennynne gen. pennynne genitive pennynne pennyjenne partitive pennyänne pennyjänne inessive pennyssänne pennyissänne elative pennystänne pennyistänne illative pennyynne pennyihinne adessive pennyllänne pennyillänne ablative pennyltänne pennyiltänne allative pennyllenne pennyillenne essive pennynänne pennyinänne translative pennyksenne pennyiksenne abessive pennyttänne pennyittänne instructive — — comitative — pennyinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative pennynsä pennynsä accusative nom. pennynsä pennynsä gen. pennynsä genitive pennynsä pennyjensä partitive pennyään pennyänsä pennyjään pennyjänsä inessive pennyssään pennyssänsä pennyissään pennyissänsä elative pennystään pennystänsä pennyistään pennyistänsä illative pennyynsä pennyihinsä adessive pennyllään pennyllänsä pennyillään pennyillänsä ablative pennyltään pennyltänsä pennyiltään pennyiltänsä allative pennylleen pennyllensä pennyilleen pennyillensä essive pennynään pennynänsä pennyinään pennyinänsä translative pennykseen pennyksensä pennyikseen pennyiksensä abessive pennyttään pennyttänsä pennyittään pennyittänsä instructive — — comitative — pennyineen pennyinensä

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English penny.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛ.ni/, /pe.ni/

Noun

penny m (plural pennys)

1. penny

Further reading

• “penny”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

English penny, from Middle English peny, from Old English penning, penniġ, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz. Doublet of penge, penning, and pfennig.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛn.nɪ/

Noun

penny m (definite singular pennyen, indefinite plural pence or pennyer, definite plural pencene or pennyene)

1. a penny

References

• “penny” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “penny” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

English penny, from Middle English peny, from Old English penning, penniġ, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz. Doublet of penge, penning, and pfennig.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛn.nɪ/

Noun

penny m (plural pennyen)

1. a penny

References

• “penny” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Noun

penny m (plural pennies)

1. Alternative spelling of péni

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English penny.

Noun

penny m (plural penny)

1. penny

Declension

Declension of penny

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) penny	pennyul	(niște) penny	pennyi
genitive/dative	(unui) penny	pennyului	(unor) penny	pennylor
vocative	pennyule		pennylor