# penny

Pronunciation: say "PEN-ee" /ˈpɛni/

## Noun

1. A one-cent coin used in the United States (and formerly Canada), worth one hundredth of a dollar.
   - Simple: A coin used in the United States, worth one cent: a hundredth of a dollar.
   - _He dropped a penny into the parking meter's coin slot._
   - _The cashier handed back three pennies in change._
2. A unit of British currency worth one hundredth of a pound sterling, or a copper coin of that value.
   - Simple: In the United Kingdom, a coin or amount of money worth one hundredth of a pound.
   - _She counted out ninety pence in small coins for the fare._
   - _Each penny in the till was logged at closing time._
3. Money considered in general terms, rather than one specific coin or sum.
   - Simple: Money in general: cash or funds of any kind.
   - _The charity stretches every penny to reach more families._
   - _He earned his living honestly and never wasted a penny._
4. In various countries, a small-denomination coin made of copper or brass.
   - Simple: In some countries, a small coin made of copper or brass.
   - _Travelers often came home with a pocketful of foreign pennies._
   - _A single penny bought a small loaf in that village market._
5. Before decimalization, a unit worth one 240th of a pound in the UK, Ireland and other countries, or a copper coin of that value.
   - Simple: An old coin in Britain and Ireland, worth one of the 240 parts that made up a pound.
   - _A skilled laborer might earn only a few pence a day._
   - _She paid the toll with a single penny and crossed the bridge._
6. In Ireland, a coin worth one hundredth of an Irish pound, used before the euro was introduced.
   - Simple: In Ireland, a coin worth one hundredth of an Irish pound, used before the euro.
   - _Shoppers counted their pence carefully before the euro arrived._
   - _He found a penny from the old Irish currency among his coins._
7. A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per hundred nails or the number of nails obtainable for one penny.
   - Simple: A size label for nails, written as a number followed by the letter d.
   - _Builders often specify nails by penny size rather than by length._
   - _The penny rating tells a carpenter roughly how long the nail is._

## Verb

8. To jam a door shut by wedging pennies between the door and its frame. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To trap someone in a room by jamming coins around the door so it won't open.
   - _They love to penny each other's rooms during exam week._
   - _He woke to find his door pennied shut from the hallway._
9. To drop a penny into someone's drink during a meal or drinking game, expecting them to finish it.
   - Simple: To drop a coin into someone's drink so they have to finish it, as part of a game.
   - _New students quickly learn how easily a senior will penny their glass._
   - _Someone pennied her wine, so she downed it to loud cheers._
10. To bypass an electrical fuse by inserting a coin in place of it, stopping the circuit from cutting off the current.
   - Simple: To bypass a fuse by putting a coin in its place, which is very dangerous.
   - _Tenants sometimes penny a blown fuse rather than replace it._
   - _The inspector found that someone had pennied the panel._

## Origin

From Middle English "peny," from Old English "peniġ" (penny), going back through Proto-West Germanic "*panning" to Proto-Germanic "*panningaz," whose ultimate origin is uncertain. It is a doublet of "pfennig" and "fening."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/penny (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).