Pfenning

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small German coin worth one hundredth of a mark, used before the euro was introduced
2. Former German currency unit equal to one hundredth of a mark, a small denomination of coin
3. A minor coin of Germany, valued at a hundredth of the mark until the currency changed

Etymology: The German "Pfennig" is a small coin, and its name traces back to a Latin word for a metal dish. The Latin "patina" (a shallow pan or dish) was borrowed into Germanic, where it developed into a term for a metal disc or coin. Over the centuries the form shifted through Old High German "pfending" and Middle High German "pfennic" before settling into the modern spelling. The word is related to the English "penny," and the two are doublets, meaning they come from the same ultimate source but entered the language separately. Because the English word "fening" is also a doublet of "pfennig," the pair shows how one Latin word can split into two English forms. Only the modern "pfennig" and the older "penny" share the same ancestry in this way, and English speakers encountering "pfennig" today often assume it is just a foreign currency name with no link to their own coins.