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Synonyms

farthing

American  
[fahr-thing] / ˈfɑr ðɪŋ /

noun

  1. a former bronze coin of Great Britain, equal to one-fourth of a British penny: withdrawn in 1961.

  2. something of very small value.

    I don't care a farthing for your opinion.
farthing British  
/ ˈfɑːðɪŋ /

noun

  1. a former British bronze coin, worth a quarter of an old penny, that ceased to be legal tender in 1961

  2. something of negligible value; jot

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • half-farthing noun

Etymology

Origin of farthing

First recorded before 950; Middle English ferthing, Old English fēorthing; see fourth, -ing 3

Vocabulary lists containing farthing

"The Prince and the Pauper," Vocabulary from the drama

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What is billed as the world's only uphill penny farthing race is taking place later in East Sussex.

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2024

I’m sure you’ve all missed ’em: The ha’penny, farthing and shilling.

From Washington Post • Sep. 3, 2020

You all are free to put your votes, hearts and contributions wherever you like and we care neither a farthing nor a fig.

From Fox News • Aug. 19, 2019

Flamboyant and self-promoting, he was well known in the art world, the expatriate American living in London who had sued the art critic John Ruskin for libel and won a farthing.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2014

When I finished, I wiped my hands on my apron and he held out a coin — a farthing.

From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.