Penny

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛni/

Definitions

1. A copper or bronze coin worth one cent in various English-speaking countries ; a small denomination of money often used in everyday transactions ; a phrase symbolizing minimal monetary value or insignificance
2. A unit of currency equal to one one-hundredth of a basic monetary unit used primarily in the UK and US ; a small coin typically made of copper or a copper alloy ; an informal term for a negligible or very small amount of money
3. A coin representing one cent in certain monetary systems, often with a face value smaller than other coins ; a basic form of money usually used for everyday minor purchases ; a metaphor for something of little worth or importance

Etymology: The penny is one of the few English coins whose name predates the coin's own history by centuries, and its ancestry is a real puzzle. Old English "peniġ" descends from a Proto-Germanic form "panningaz" whose origin is genuinely uncertain. Scholars have proposed several theories, but none is settled, so the word's deepest roots remain a mystery. What is clear is that the word has German cousins that still thrive. German "Pfennig" is a doublet of "penny", meaning the two words descend from the same ancestor but reached their modern forms along separate paths. Modern English also has "fening", a rarer relative from the same family, and both show how one ancient word split across the Germanic languages.

Synonyms: cent, coin