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halfpenny

[ hey-puh-nee, heyp-nee ]

noun

, plural half·pen·nies half·pence [hey, -p, uh, ns]
  1. a bronze coin of the United Kingdom, equal to half a penny: use phased out in 1984.
  2. the sum of half a penny.


adjective

  1. of the price or value of a halfpenny.
  2. of little value; worthless:

    a halfpenny matter.

  3. British Informal. (of newspapers) sensational, especially morbidly or offensively so.

halfpenny

/ ˈhɑːfˌpɛnɪ; ˈheɪpnɪ /

noun

  1. Also calledhalf -pennies a small British coin worth half a new penny, withdrawn from circulation in 1985
  2. -pennies an old British coin worth half an old penny
  3. -pence the sum represented by half a penny
  4. -pence something of negligible value
  5. modifier having the value or price of a halfpenny
  6. modifier of negligible value
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of halfpenny1

First recorded in 1225–75, halfpenny is from the Middle English word halfpeny, halpeny. See half, penny
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Example Sentences

The price of tobacco accordingly dropped from fourpence a pound to a halfpenny per pound by 1667.

Nothing further transpired, however, and the readers of the halfpenny press for once were deprived of their sensation.

When I was a boy, such a thing was out of the question, as to each paper a fourpenny-halfpenny stamp was attached.

Why, in tossing up a halfpenny, do we reckon it equally probable that we shall throw cross or pile?

The flowers are lovely; you can buy a big bunch of violets for a son, and sou is the peasant word for a halfpenny.

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