sixpence

English

British sixpence coins struck in 1787.

Etymology

From six +‎ pence.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪks.pəns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

sixpence (countable and uncountable, plural sixpences)

1. (obsolete, British, uncountable) The value of six old pence; half of a shilling; or one-fortieth of a pound sterling.

   Finest apples, sixpence each.

2. (historical) A former British coin worth sixpence, first minted in 1551.

   Have you got two sixpences for a shilling?

   • 1994, Neil Gaiman, Mr. Punch:

     I remember playing card games with my grandfather. Games of memory, not of skill. If I won, he gave me sixpence; if he won, he didn't. We would play until I was bored, or until he ran out of sixpences.

Synonyms

• tanner (colloquial)
• lord, tester, tizzy, hog, pig, sow's baby (all slang and dated, archaic, or obsolete)

Derived terms

• on a sixpence