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pfennig

[fen-ig; German pfen-ikh]
noun, plural pfen·nigs, pfen·ni·ge [German pfen-i-guh] /German ˈpfɛn ɪ gə/.
  1. a copper-coated iron coin and monetary unit of Germany until the euro was adopted, the 100th part of a Deutsche mark.
  2. (formerly) a minor coin and monetary unit of East Germany, the 100th part of an ostmark.
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Origin of pfennig

1540–50; < German: penny
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pfennig

Historical Examples

  • One pfennig is one-hundredth of a mark, and the mark once was equal to 23.8 cents.

    All About Coffee

    William H. Ukers

  • I had not a pfennig to spend and nothing of any value to sell.

  • A mark is 23.82 of our cents; and a pfennig is one-hundredth of a mark.

  • You just say such things because I owe you seventeen pfennig.

  • Pfennig, pfen′ig, n. a German copper coin, the hundredth part of a mark.

British Dictionary definitions for pfennig

pfennig

noun plural -nigs or -nige (German -nɪɡə )
  1. a former German monetary unit worth one hundredth of a Deutschmark
  2. (formerly) a monetary unit worth one hundredth of an East German ostmark
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Word Origin

German: penny
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