Nearby Words
noun
1.
a coastal region in W Africa, extending from the Gambia River to the Gabon estuary.
2.
Formerly, French Guinea. an independent republic in W Africa, on the Atlantic coast. 7,405,375; about 96,900 sq. mi. (251,000 sq. km). Capital: Conakry.
3.
Gulf of, a part of the Atlantic Ocean that projects into the W coast of Africa and extends from the Ivory Coast to Gabon.
4.
(lowercase) a former money of account of the United Kingdom, equal to 21 shillings: still often used in quoting fees or prices.
5.
EXPAND(lowercase) a gold coin of Great Britain issued from 1663 to 1813, with a nominal value of 20 shillings.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To guinea
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Guinea
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| guinea (ˈɡɪnɪ) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. a British gold coin taken out of circulation in 1813, worth 21 shillings |
| b. the sum of 21 shillings (£1.05), still used in some contexts, as in quoting professional fees | |
| 2. | See guinea fowl |
| 3. | slang, derogatory (US) an Italian or a person of Italian descent |
| [C16: the coin was originally made of gold from Guinea] | |
| guinea fowl or guinea | |
| —n | |
| any gallinaceous bird, esp Numida meleagris, of the family Numididae of Africa and SW Asia, having a dark plumage mottled with white, a naked head and neck, and a heavy rounded body | |
| guinea or guinea | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
guinea
former British coin, 1664, from Guinea, region along the west coast of Africa, presumably from an African word (perhaps Tuareg aginaw "black people"); the 20-shilling coins so called because they were first minted for British trade with Guinea (but soon in domestic use) and with gold from Africa. The
EXPANDoriginal guinea (in use from 1663 to 1813) was based on the value of gold and by 1695 it was worth 30 shillings. William III then fixed its value at 21 shillings, 6 pence in 1698. The extra 6 pence were lopped off in December 1717. The Guinea hen (1578) is a domestic fowl imported from there. Guinea "derogatory term for Italian" (1896) was originally Guinea Negro (1740s) and meant "black person, person of mixed ancestry." It was applied to Italians c.1890 probably because of their dark complexions relative to northern Europeans, and after 1911 was occasionally applied to Hispanics and Pacific Islanders as well. New Guinea was so named 1546 by Sp. explorer Inigo Ortiz de Retes in ref. to the natives' dark skin and tightly curled hair.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
Guinea [(gin-ee)]Republic in west Africa, bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali to the north; Ivory Coast to the east; Liberia to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its capital and largest city is Conarky.
Note: Guinea was once part of the Mali empire.
Note: It became independent of France in 1958.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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