penny English · revision 8023

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|formation=inherited|attested=before 725|origins=gem-pro *panninga}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɛni/; /ˈpɪni/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English peni, [[inh|ang|penig|t=penny]], pening, Northumbrian penning,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *panninga-,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Old Norse penningr, Dutch [[m|nl|penning]] and German [[m|de|Pfennig]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a word of unknown or uncertain origin;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) NODE suggests a relation to [[pawn]] and, from the shape, to [[pan]].^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An English coin worth a twelfth of a shilling: before 725 in Barnhart and the OED;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) peni in the ''Peterborough Chronicle'' in 1125.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The broad silver penny introduced by King Offa about 760–65 remained the main English coin, with minor changes, until the 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) It rendered Latin denarius from about 950.^(OED 1989) The Old English plural penegas gave penies and the contracted pens, later spelled pence (16th century), while pennies is a new formation.^(Hoad 1986) Word Origins notes that the penny, first of pure silver and later of copper, gave the colloquial coppers, and that ''the penny has dropped'' comes from coin-operated slot machines.^(Cresswell 2021) Since 1971 the British penny has been a hundredth of a pound,^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) and in the United States and Canada the word is used for the one-cent coin.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 725 – pening.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 760 – Offa's broad penny.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1125 – peni.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 16th century – the plural pence.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1971 – decimal penny.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A British [[coin]] worth one hundredth of a pound, or before 1971 a twelfth of a shilling.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US, Canada)'' A one-cent coin.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pennied]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pence]]

+ * [[penniless]]

+ * [[pennyworth]]

+ * [[pfennig]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is pennies or pence.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}