Farden

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic English coin of very small value, equal to a quarter of an old penny
2. A former British copper coin, now obsolete, that was worth one fourth of a penny
3. A tiny old monetary unit used in England, representing a quarter of a penny in earlier times

Etymology: "Farden" is a pronunciation spelling of "farthing," the old English coin worth a quarter of a penny. The spelling imitates the way the word was spoken in casual or dialect speech, where the "th" sound and the final "-ing" often wore down. "Farthing" comes from Old English "fēorþing" and "fēorþung," meaning "a quarter" or "fourth part." Those words are built from "fēorþa," "fourth," plus a suffix that forms nouns of division, so the coin's name literally meant "a fourth." The same pattern appears in "riding," an old English word for a third part of a region, as in the Yorkshire Ridings. The Proto-Germanic ancestor was "*fedurþungaz," and the Old Norse "fjórðungr," meaning "a fourth part," probably shaped the form as it developed. The coin was named for what it was: a fraction of a larger unit, the penny. Its name tells you exactly how it was valued.