eightpenny

American  

[eyt-pen-ee] / ˈeɪtˌpɛn i /

adjective

1. noting a nail 2½ inches (6.4 centimeters) long.

2. costing or amounting to the sum of eight pennies. 8d

---

Etymology

Origin of eightpenny

First recorded in 1490–1500; eight + penny ( def. 6 ) (so called because originally one paid eight British pennies for a hundred nails; the term later referred to the size of the nail)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eightpenny

If the ghost of his grandfather, Sir, was to rise before him this minute, he'd ask him for the loan of his acceptance on an eightpenny stamp.'

From The Pickwick Papers by Dickens, Charles

Even on ordinary days those low-ceiled dining-rooms, stretching far back from the street in a complicated vista of interiors, were apt to be crowded; for the quality of the eightpenny dinner could be relied upon.

From Clayhanger by Bennett, Arnold

Do you go down to Leslie's and tell him to send me a good claw hammer and three pounds of eightpenny nails.

From Home Lights and Shadows by Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay)

An eight-shilling meal stands out, among eightpenny teas, as a rare extravagance….

From Anthony Lyveden by Yates, Dornford

"Go get a claw hammer and three pounds of eightpenny nails."

From Home Lights and Shadows by Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay)