halfpenny

[ hey-puh-nee, heyp-nee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural half·pen·nies half·pence [hey, -p, uh, ns]

a bronze coin of the United Kingdom, equal to half a penny: use phased out in 1984.
the sum of half a penny.

of the price or value of a halfpenny.
of little value; worthless:
a halfpenny matter.
British Informal. (of newspapers) sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so.

halfpenny

/ ˈhɑːfˌpɛnɪ; ˈheɪpnɪ /

Also calledhalf -pennies a small British coin worth half a new penny, withdrawn from circulation in 1985
-pennies an old British coin worth half an old penny
-pence the sum represented by half a penny
-pence something of negligible value
modifier having the value or price of a halfpenny
modifier of negligible value

First recorded in 1225–75, halfpenny is from the Middle English word halfpeny, halpeny. See half, penny

The price of tobacco accordingly dropped from fourpence a pound to a halfpenny per pound by 1667.

Nothing further transpired, however, and the readers of the halfpenny press for once were deprived of their sensation.

When I was a boy, such a thing was out of the question, as to each paper a fourpenny-halfpenny stamp was attached.

Why, in tossing up a halfpenny, do we reckon it equally probable that we shall throw cross or pile?

The flowers are lovely; you can buy a big bunch of violets for a son, and sou is the peasant word for a halfpenny.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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