# penny
## English
### Alternative forms

* peny, penie, pennie (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English penny, peny, from Old English peniġ, penniġ, penning (“penny”), from Proto-West Germanic *panning, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz, of uncertain origin (see that page for theories). Doublet of pfennig and fening.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA: /ˈpɛni/
* Audio (General American):(file)
* (pin–pen merger) IPA: /ˈpɪni/
* (In compounds like twopenny, dated) IPA: /pəni/
* Rhymes: -ɛni
* Hyphenation: pen‧ny

### Noun

penny (plural pennies or pence or (obsolete) pens)
* (historical) In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a unit of currency worth $^1$⁄$_{240}$ of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: d.
** 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0056:Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
** 1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 150:We had not proceeded very far across the south cantilever when we saw a penny lying beside the track, and another a short distance further on. We were to find several more pennies, and some half-pennies, before we reached the north shore. Inspector Bell explained that many passengers try to throw a coin into the Forth, for "good luck," while trains are crossing the bridge.
* In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth $^1$⁄$_{100}$ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p.
* (historical) In Ireland, a coin worth $^1$⁄$_{100}$ of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.
* In the US and (formerly) Canada, a one-cent coin, worth $^1$⁄$_{100}$ of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢.
** 2015 November 22, “Pennies”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 35, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:Holy shit! A hundred and eleven pennies! At that point, that dog had more Lincoln in him than Mary Todd.
* In various countries, a small-denomination copper or brass coin.
* A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per penny. Abbreviation: d.
* Money in general.
    to turn an honest penny
** c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:What penny hath Rome borne, / What men provided, what munition sent?

#### Usage notes

* The plural pence is only used as a unit of currency. The plural pennies is used for other cases, in particular when referring to multiple individual coins.
* The compounds (twopence, threepence, fourpence and so on up to tenpence, but not eleven pence or any higher) should be read with the stress on the first syllable and a reduced /ə/ in pence. Thus /ˈtʌpəns/, /ˈθɹʌpəns/, /ˈfɔːpəns/ and so on.

#### Synonyms

* ($^1$⁄$_{240}$ of a pound sterling): old penny
* ($^1$⁄$_{100}$ of a pound sterling): new penny (old-fashioned)
* (one-cent coin or its value): cent

#### Derived terms

* a bad penny always comes back
* a bad penny always turns up
* a penny saved is a penny earned
* a penny saved is a penny gained
* a pound to a penny
* bad penny
* bright as a new penny
* clean as a new penny
* eightpenny nail
* eight penny nail
* eight-penny nail
* four-penny nail
* fourpenny nail
* four penny nail
* get-penny
* God's penny
* hearth-penny
* in for a penny, in for a pound
* jam penny
* luck penny
* pence
* penniless
* penny-a-line
* penny-a-liner
* penny ante
* penny-ante
* penny arcade
* penny bank
* Penny Black
* penny bun
* penny candy
* penny chew
* penny dog
* penny dreadful
* penny-dreadfulish
* penny-dreadfulism
* penny fall
* penny farthing
* penny-farthing
* penny-father
* penny for one's thoughts
* penny for them
* penny for your thoughts
* penny gaff
* penny-gaff
* penny gaffe
* penny grass
* penny-grass
* penny in the fusebox
* penny-in-the-slot machine
* penny loafer
* penny mail
* penny packet
* penny-pig
* penny-pinch
* penny pincher
* penny-pincher
* penny-pinching
* penny post
* penny pusher
* penny slot
* penny starver
* penny sterling
* penny stock
* penny sweet
* penny tray
* penny university
* penny wedding
* penny-wedding
* penny weed
* penny whip
* penny whistle
* penny wisdom
* penny-wise
* penny wise and pound foolish
* penny-wise and pound-foolish
* pennywort
* Peter's penny
* pitchpenny
* pretty penny
* push-penny
* red penny
* Rome-penny
* scrape-penny
* six-penny nail
* sixpenny nail
* six penny nail
* sixteen-penny nail
* sixteen penny nail
* spear-penny
* spear penny
* spend a penny
* swarf-penny
* ten a penny
* tenpenny nail
* ten penny nail
* ten-penny nail
* the bad penny always comes back
* the bad penny always turns up
* the penny drops
* third penny
* tin penny
* toffee penny
* true-penny
* turn an honest penny
* twelve-penny nail
* twelve penny nail
* two a penny
* two ha'pennies for a penny
* watch the pennies
* wheat penny
* worth every penny

#### Descendants

* → Bulgarian: пени (peni)
* → Czech: penny
* → Dutch: penny
* → Finnish: penny
* → French: penny
* → German: Penny
* → Hebrew: פֶּנִי (péni)
* → Hindi: पेनी (penī)
* → Hungarian: penny
* → Japanese: ペニー (penī)
* → Korean: 페니 (peni)
* → Macedonian: пе́ни (péni)
* → Malay: peni
* → Maori: pene
* → Marathi: पेनी (penī)
* → Norman: pénîn
* → Norwegian:
    Norwegian Bokmål: penny
    Norwegian Nynorsk: penny
* → Portuguese: pêni (Brazil), péni (Portugal)
* → Russian: пе́нни (pénni)
* → Swahili: peni
* → Swedish: penny
* → Thai: เพนนี (peen-nii)
* → Turkish: peni
* → Uyghur: پەنى (peni)
* → Volapük: pänid

#### See also

* pence § Descendants

### Verb

penny (third-person singular simple present pennies, present participle pennying, simple past and past participle pennied)
* (slang) To jam a door shut by inserting pennies between the doorframe and the door.
    Zach and Ben had only been at college for a week when their door was pennied by the girls down the hall.
* (electronics) To circumvent the tripping of an electrical circuit breaker by the dangerous practice of inserting a coin in place of a fuse in a fuse socket.
* (Oxbridge slang) During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink with the expectation that they finish it (or some such variation thereof); commonly associated with crewdates at Oxford and swaps at Cambridge.
    You got pennied! Down it, fresher.

### See also

* d (British penny)
* cent

### Anagrams

* Pynne

## Finnish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English penny.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpenːi/, [ˈpe̞nːi]
* Rhymes: -enːi

### Noun

penny
* (money) penny (division of a pound)

#### Declension

Possessive forms of penny (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
pennyni
pennyni
accusative
nom.
pennyni
pennyni
gen.
pennyni
genitive
pennyni
pennyjeni
partitive
pennyäni
pennyjäni
inessive
pennyssäni
pennyissäni
elative
pennystäni
pennyistäni
illative
pennyyni
pennyihini
adessive
pennylläni
pennyilläni
ablative
pennyltäni
pennyiltäni
allative
pennylleni
pennyilleni
essive
pennynäni
pennyinäni
translative
pennykseni
pennyikseni
abessive
pennyttäni
pennyittäni
instructive
comitative
—pennyineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
pennysi
pennysi
accusative
nom.
pennysi
pennysi
gen.
pennysi
genitive
pennysi
pennyjesi
partitive
pennyäsi
pennyjäsi
inessive
pennyssäsi
pennyissäsi
elative
pennystäsi
pennyistäsi
illative
pennyysi
pennyihisi
adessive
pennylläsi
pennyilläsi
ablative
pennyltäsi
pennyiltäsi
allative
pennyllesi
pennyillesi
essive
pennynäsi
pennyinäsi
translative
pennyksesi
pennyiksesi
abessive
pennyttäsi
pennyittäsi
instructive
comitative
—pennyinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
pennymme
pennymme
accusative
nom.
pennymme
pennymme
gen.
pennymme
genitive
pennymme
pennyjemme
partitive
pennyämme
pennyjämme
inessive
pennyssämme
pennyissämme
elative
pennystämme
pennyistämme
illative
pennyymme
pennyihimme
adessive
pennyllämme
pennyillämme
ablative
pennyltämme
pennyiltämme
allative
pennyllemme
pennyillemme
essive
pennynämme
pennyinämme
translative
pennyksemme
pennyiksemme
abessive
pennyttämme
pennyittämme
instructive
comitative
—pennyinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
pennynne
pennynne
accusative
nom.
pennynne
pennynne
gen.
pennynne
genitive
pennynne
pennyjenne
partitive
pennyänne
pennyjänne
inessive
pennyssänne
pennyissänne
elative
pennystänne
pennyistänne
illative
pennyynne
pennyihinne
adessive
pennyllänne
pennyillänne
ablative
pennyltänne
pennyiltänne
allative
pennyllenne
pennyillenne
essive
pennynänne
pennyinänne
translative
pennyksenne
pennyiksenne
abessive
pennyttänne
pennyittänne
instructive
comitative
—pennyinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
pennynsä
pennynsä
accusative
nom.
pennynsä
pennynsä
gen.
pennynsä
genitive
pennynsä
pennyjensä
partitive
pennyään pennyänsä
pennyjään pennyjänsä
inessive
pennyssään pennyssänsä
pennyissään pennyissänsä
elative
pennystään pennystänsä
pennyistään pennyistänsä
illative
pennyynsä
pennyihinsä
adessive
pennyllään pennyllänsä
pennyillään pennyillänsä
ablative
pennyltään pennyltänsä
pennyiltään pennyiltänsä
allative
pennylleen pennyllensä
pennyilleen pennyillensä
essive
pennynään pennynänsä
pennyinään pennyinänsä
translative
pennykseen pennyksensä
pennyikseen pennyiksensä
abessive
pennyttään pennyttänsä
pennyittään pennyittänsä
instructive
comitative
—pennyineen pennyinensä :

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from English penny.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pɛ.ni/ ~ /pe.ni/

### Noun

penny m (plural pennys)
* penny

### Further reading

* “penny”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

English penny, from Middle English peny, from Old English penning, penniġ, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz. Doublet of penge, penning, and pfennig.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɛn.nɪ/

### Noun

penny m (definite singular pennyen, indefinite plural pence or pennyer, definite plural pencene or pennyene)
* a penny

### References

* “penny” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “penny” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

English penny, from Middle English peny, from Old English penning, penniġ, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz. Doublet of penge, penning, and pfennig.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɛn.nɪ/

### Noun

penny m (plural pennyen)
* a penny

### References

* “penny” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Portuguese
### Noun

penny m (plural pennies)
* Alternative spelling of péni

## Romanian
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English penny.

### Noun

penny m (plural penny)
* penny