pfennig

[ fen-ig; German pfen-ikh ]

noun,plural pfen·nigs, pfen·ni·ge [German pfen-i-guh]. /German ˈpfɛn ɪ gə/.
  1. a copper-coated iron coin and monetary unit of Germany until the euro was adopted, one 100th of a Deutsche mark.

  2. (formerly) a minor coin and monetary unit of East Germany, one 100th of an ostmark.

Origin of pfennig

1
First recorded in 1540–50; from German: penny

Words Nearby pfennig

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pfennig in a sentence

  • pfennig, pfen′ig, n. a German copper coin, the hundredth part of a mark.

  • These fellows beg usually within very small districts, and know every house that is "good" for a meal or a pfennig.

    Tramping with Tramps | Josiah Flynt
  • And patting the child on the head, Dr. Sanders gave her a ten-pfennig piece, and asked her who had taught her the poem.

  • They belong to the state, Otto, and if they should be shared with every one in Germany not one man would be a pfennig the better.

    Walking Shadows | Alfred Noyes
  • Briquettes are largely used in cities, small slabs of condensed coal that cost one pfennig each.

    Home Life in Germany | Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick

British Dictionary definitions for pfennig

pfennig

/ (ˈfɛnɪɡ, German ˈpfɛnɪç ) /


nounplural -nigs or -nige (German -nɪɡə )
  1. a former German monetary unit worth one hundredth of a Deutschmark

  2. (formerly) a monetary unit worth one hundredth of an East German ostmark

Origin of pfennig

1
German: penny

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012