pence

[pens]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun British.

a plural of penny; used in referring to a sum of money rather than to the coins themselves (often used in combination): sixpence; The fare was 15 pence.

Origin of pence

1275–1325; Middle English pens, pans

Related formspence·less, adjective

penny

[pen-ee]

noun, plural pen·nies, (especially collectively for 2, 3) pence.

a bronze coin, the 100th part of the dollars of various nations, as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; one cent.

Also called new penny. a bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 100th part of a pound. Abbreviation: p

a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 12th part of a shilling: use phased out in 1971. Abbreviation: d.

a sum of money: He spent every penny he ever earned.

the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations from twopenny to sixtypenny.

adjective

Stock Exchange. of, relating to, or being penny stock: frenzied speculation in the penny market.

Origin of penny

before 900; Middle English peni, Old English penig, pænig, pen(n)ing, pending, cognate with Old Frisian penning, panning, Old Saxon, Dutch penning, Old High German pfenning, phantinc, phenting (German Pfennig), Old Norse penningr (perhaps < OE); < West Germanic or Germanic *pandingaz, probably equivalent to *pand- pawn² + *-ingaz -ing³

Related formspen·nied, adjectiveun·pen·nied, adjective

Can be confusedpenne penny

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pence

cent, farthing, penny

Examples from the Web for pence

Contemporary Examples of pence

But Pence, who was slated to keynote this conference in just a few minutes?
Mike Pence, Dark Horse in Training for 2016
David Freedlander
June 27, 2014
Pence told the crowd, however, that he had only first come to New York 13 years ago, at the age of 40, when he was a congressman.
Mike Pence, Dark Horse in Training for 2016
David Freedlander
June 27, 2014
Pence, with his thick mane of hair and thick build, looks great on a flier.
Mike Pence, Dark Horse in Training for 2016
David Freedlander
June 27, 2014
Republicans, she said, are approaching the Pence camp to have another look.
Mike Pence, Dark Horse in Training for 2016
David Freedlander
June 27, 2014
Much of the praise of Pence is in this vein—he will not embarrass us.
Mike Pence, Dark Horse in Training for 2016
David Freedlander
June 27, 2014

Historical Examples of pence

And I am prepared to bet that on occasions they are less generous with their pence.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 25, January 1893
Various
When she was dug out afterwards, the pence were found in her pocket.
Bunyan
James Anthony Froude
But to see her face as he poured the shillings and sixpences and pence into her lap!
At the Back of the North Wind
George MacDonald
Already the Duke of St. James began to think of pounds, shillings, and pence.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
And as they say, 'Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves.'
Expositions of Holy Scripture
Alexander Maclaren

British Dictionary definitions for pence

pence

noun

a plural of penny

usage

Since the decimalization of British currency and the introduction of the abbreviation p, as in 10p, 85p, etc, the abbreviation has tended to replace pence in speech, as in 4p (ˌfɔːˈpiː), 12p (ˌtwɛlvˈpiː), etc

penny

noun plural pennies or pence (pɛns)

Also called (formerly): new penny (in Britain) a bronze coin having a value equal to one hundredth of a poundSymbol: p

(in Britain before 1971) a bronze or copper coin having a value equal to one twelfth of a shilling or one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a poundAbbreviation: d

a former monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland worth one hundredth of a pound

plural pennies (in the US and Canada) a cent

a coin of similar value, as used in several other countries

(used with a negative) informal, mainly British the least amount of moneyI don't have a penny

a bad penny informal, mainly British an objectionable person or thing (esp in the phrase turn up like a bad penny)

a pretty penny informal a considerable sum of money

spend a penny British informal to urinate

the penny dropped informal, mainly British the explanation of something was finally realized

two a penny plentiful but of little value

Word Origin for penny

Old English penig, pening; related to Old Saxon penni (n) g, Old High German pfeni (n) c, German Pfennig

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

Word Origin and History for pence

late 14c., contraction of penies, collective plural of penny.

penny

Old English pening, penig, Northumbrian penning "penny," from Proto-Germanic *panninggaz (cf. Old Norse penningr, Swedish pänning, Danish penge, Old Frisian panning, Old Saxon pending, Middle Dutch pennic, Dutch penning, Old High German pfenning, German Pfennig, not recorded in Gothic, where skatts is used instead), of unknown origin.

Offa's reformed coinage on light, broad flans is likely to have begun c.760-5 in London, with an awareness of developments in Francia and East Anglia. ... The broad flan penny established by Offa remained the principal denomination, with only minor changes, until the fourteenth century. [Anna Gannon, "The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage," Oxford, 2003]

The English coin was originally set at one-twelfth of a shilling and was of silver, later copper, then bronze. There are two plural forms: pennies of individual coins, pence collectively. In translations it rendered various foreign coins of small denomination, especially Latin denarius, whence comes its abbreviation d.

As American English colloquial for cent, it is recorded from 1889. Penny-a-liner "writer for a journal or newspaper" is attested from 1834. Penny dreadful "cheap and gory fiction" dates from c.1870. Phrase penny-wise and pound-foolish is recorded from c.1600. Penny-pincher "miserly person" is recorded from 1906 (as an adjective penny-pinching is recorded from 1858, American English). Penny loafers attested from 1960.

Idioms and Phrases with pence

penny

In addition to the idioms beginning with penny

penny for your thoughts, a
penny pincher
penny saved is a penny earned, a
penny wise and pound foolish

also see:

in for a penny, in for a pound
pinch pennies
pretty penny
turn up (like a bad penny)