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Definition of penny - 9 dictionary results
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pen⋅ny

  [pen-ee] noun, plural pen⋅nies, (especially collectively for 2, 3) pence, adjective
Use penny in a Sentence
–noun
1. a bronze coin, the 100th part of the dollars of various nations, as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; one cent.
2. Also called new penny. a bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 100th part of a pound. Abbreviation: p
3. a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 12th part of a shilling: use phased out in 1971. Abbreviation: d.
4. a sum of money: He spent every penny he ever earned.
5. the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations from twopenny to sixtypenny.
–adjective
6. Stock Exchange. of, pertaining to, or being penny stock: frenzied speculation in the penny market.
—Idioms
7. a bad penny, someone or something undesirable.
8. a pretty penny, Informal. a considerable sum of money: Their car must have cost them a pretty penny.
9. Chiefly British Slang. spend a penny, to urinate: from the former cost of using a public lavatory.
10. turn an honest penny, to earn one's living honestly; make money by fair means: He's never turned an honest penny in his life.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME peni, OE penig, pænig, pen(n)ing, pending, c. OFris penning, panning, OS, D penning, OHG pfenning, phantinc, phenting (G Pfennig), ON penningr (perh. < OE); < WGmc or Gmc *pandingaz, prob. equiv. to *pand- pawn 2 + *-ingaz -ing 3

Related forms:
pennied, adjective

Pen⋅ny

  [pen-ee]
–noun
a female given name, form of Penelope.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pen·ny   (pěn'ē)   
n.   pl. pen·nies
  1. In the United States and Canada, the coin that is worth one cent.
  2. pl. pence (pěns)
    1. Abbr. p. A coin used in Great Britain since 1971, worth 1/100 of a pound. Also called new penny.
    2. Abbr. d. A coin formerly used in Great Britain, worth 1/12 of a shilling or 1/240 of a pound.
    3. A coin formerly used in the Republic of Ireland, worth 1/100 of a pound.
    4. A coin used in various dependent territories of the United Kingdom.
  3. Any of various coins of small denomination.
  4. A sum of money.
  5. One of a set of colored, usually sleeveless shirts worn as a temporary team uniform, as when scrimmaging.

[Middle English, an English coin, from Old English penig.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Penny

Pen"ny\, a. [Perh. a corruption of pun, for pound.] Denoting pound weight for one thousand; -- used in combination, with respect to nails; as, tenpenny nails, nails of which one thousand weight ten pounds.

Penny

Pen*ny\, n.; pl. Penniesor Pence. Pennies denotes the number of coins; pence the amount of pennies in value. [OE. peni, AS. penig, pening, pending; akin to D. penning, OHG. pfenning, pfenting, G. pfennig, Icel. penningr; of uncertain origin.]

1. An English coin, formerly of copper, now of bronze, the twelfth part of an English shilling in account value, and equal to four farthings, or about two cents; -- usually indicated by the abbreviation d. (the initial of denarius).

Note: "The chief Anglo-Saxon coin, and for a long period the only one, corresponded to the denarius of the Continent . . . [and was] called penny, denarius, or denier." --R. S. Poole. The ancient silver penny was worth about three pence sterling (see Pennyweight). The old Scotch penny was only one twelfth the value of the English coin. In the United States the word penny is popularly used for cent.

2. Any small sum or coin; a groat; a stiver. --Shak.

3. Money, in general; as, to turn an honest penny.

What penny hath Rome borne, What men provided, what munition sent? --Shak.

4. (Script.) See Denarius.

Penny cress (Bot.), an annual herb of the Mustard family, having round, flat pods like silver pennies (Thlaspi arvense). --Dr. Prior.

Penny dog (Zo["o]l.), a kind of shark found on the South coast of Britain: the tope.

Penny father, a penurious person; a niggard. [Obs.] --Robinson (More's Utopia).

Penny grass (Bot.), pennyroyal. [R.]

Penny post, a post carrying a letter for a penny; also, a mail carrier.

Penny wise, wise or prudent only in small matters; saving small sums while losing larger; -- used chiefly in the phrase, penny wise and pound foolish.

Penny

Pen"ny\, a. Worth or costing one penny.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : penny
Spanish: penique, centavo,
German: der Penny,
Japanese: ペニー
More Translations »

penny 
O.E. pening, penig "penny," from P.Gmc. *panninggaz (cf. O.N. penningr, Swed. pänning, O.Fris. panning, M.Du. pennic, O.H.G. pfenning, Ger. Pfennig, not recorded in Goth., where skatts is used instead), of unknown origin. The English coin was originally set at one-twelfth of a shilling and was of silver, later copper, then bronze. There are two plural forms: pennies of individual coins, pence collectively. In translations it rendered various foreign coins of small denomination, esp. L. denarius, whence comes its abbreviation d. As Amer.Eng. colloquial for cent, it is recorded from 1889. Penniless "destitute" is attested from c.1310. Pennyweight is O.E. penega gewiht, originally the weight of a silver penny. Penny-a-liner "writer for a journal or newspaper" is attested from 1834. Penny dreadful "cheap and gory fiction" dates from c.1870. Phrase penny-wise and pound-foolish is recorded from 1607.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Penny

(Gr. denarion), a silver coin of the value of about 7 1/2d. or 8d. of our present money. It is thus rendered in the New Testament, and is more frequently mentioned than any other coin (Matt. 18:28; 20:2, 9, 13; Mark 6:37; 14:5, etc.). It was the daily pay of a Roman soldier in the time of Christ. In the reign of Edward III. an English penny was a labourer's day's wages. This was the "tribute money" with reference to which our Lord said, "Whose image and superscription is this?" When they answered, "Caesar's," he replied, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:19; Mark 12:15).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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penny

In addition to the idioms beginning with penny, also see in for a penny, in for a pound; pinch pennies; pretty penny; turn up (like a bad penny).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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