Peter's pence

American  

Or Peter pence

noun

1. an annual tax or tribute, originally of a penny, paid by certain English property owners to the papal see until the Reformation.

2. a voluntary contribution to the pope, made by Roman Catholics.

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Peter's pence British  

noun

1. an annual tax, originally of one penny, formerly levied for the maintenance of the Papal See: abolished by Henry VIII in 1534

2. a voluntary contribution made by Roman Catholics in many countries for the same purpose

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Etymology

Origin of Peter's pence

1175–1225; Middle English Peteres peni (singular)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Peter's pence

The gap has been met by "Peter's pence," the aid offering from churches around the world, and other gifts.

From Time Magazine Archive

For a short time Edward stopped even the payment of Peter’s pence.

From The English Church in the Middle Ages by William Hunt

But the Peter’s pence count up in a remarkable manner, and are paid with a regularity which only blind devotion, or the zeal of religious partisanship, can exact.

From Gwen Wynn A Romance of the Wye by Mayne Reid

The Pope promised to reduce the charges on condition that Peter's pence be regularly paid.

From Canute the Great The Rise of Danish Imperialism during the Viking Age by Laurence Marcellus Larson

By the end of three months, there were in Flanders no fewer than four hundred thousand associates for the collection of Peter's pence.

From Pius IX. And His Time by Æneas MacDonell Dawson

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