pennyworth

[pen-ee-wurth]

noun

Archaic.

1. as much as may be bought for a penny.

   a pennyworth of candy.

2. a small quantity.

   He chimed in with a grudging pennyworth of praise.

3. a bargain.

pennyworth

/ ˈpɛnɪˌwɜːθ /

noun

1. the amount that can be bought for a penny

2. a small amount

   he hasn't got a pennyworth of sense

Word History and Origins

Origin of pennyworth¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English penyworth, Old English penigweorth; penny, worth ¹

Example Sentences

Making a point of order in the Commons later on Wednesday, Mr Cunningham said: "Before the prime minister answered, the home secretary chose to add in his pennyworth."

From BBC

“The big treat was a pennyworth of peanut butter.”

From New York Times

Dr. Watson is shocked, but Holmes insists, “If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or my work.”

From New York Times

Each of us received sixpence a week for pocket-money, and whenever there was any money in our pockets, we would all troop in together to buy a pennyworth of this or that.

From Literature

Eesaac Oliver was not to serve packets of tea and pennyworths of bicarbonate of soda over a grocer's counter.

From Project Gutenberg

When To Use

What does pennyworth mean?

A pennyworth is as much as you can buy for a penny, as in I’ll have a pennyworth of licorice, sir. It can also be used in a figurative way to mean a very small amount, as in He doesn’t have a pennyworth of common sense, or a bargain, as in We can get it for a pennyworth!Pennyworth is an old-fashioned word that’s rarely used literally, due to the fact that nothing costs a penny anymore. Its figurative use is also uncommon.Pennyworth is sometimes abbreviated as penn’orth. It’s most closely associated with its use in the U.K. Although the word penny is often used in the U.S. as an informal name for the one-cent coin officially known as the cent, the penny in pennyworth referred for much of the word’s history to the former British penny (pluralized as pence), which was worth one twelfth of a shilling. The related term halfpennyworth (sometimes abbreviated as ha’p’orth) refers to an amount that could be bought for a halfpenny.Example: My great grandmother used to tell me stories about going to the shop and buying a pennyworth of candy.