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

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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

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

The large fivepenny, sixpenny, eightpenny, and shilling often had unusually wide margins when perforated.

From Peeps at Postage Stamps by Johnson, Stanley Currie

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)

"This, I presume," he remarked, "is not where you serve the eightpenny table d'hote?"

From The Yellow Crayon by Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)

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

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