tuppence

[tuhp-uh ns]

noun British.

twopence.

Origin of tuppence

1505–15; earlier tuppens, reduction of twopence

twopence

or tup·pence

[tuhp-uh ns]

noun, plural two·pence, two·pen·ces for 2–4.

(used with a singular or plural verb) British. a sum of two pennies.

a bronze coin of the United Kingdom equal to two pennies: issued after decimalization in 1971.

a former copper coin of Great Britain, equal to two pennies, issued under George III.

a former silver coin of England, equal to two pennies: issued only as maundy money after 1662.

a trifle.

Origin of twopence

1400–50; late Middle English two pens; see two, pence

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

Examples from the Web for tuppence

Historical Examples of tuppence

Swing on the tail-board by the strap and yell, ‘tuppence all the way.’
Within the Tides
Joseph Conrad
Please, sir,” said Tottie to the penny banker, “I wants to pay in tuppence.
Post Haste
R.M. Ballantyne
Sure I knew a lad in Ireland wance that fiddled for tuppence a night.
The Chronicles of Rhoda
Florence Tinsley Cox
I spent fourpence of that in bread and cheese, that on the table's the tuppence.
The Story of the Treasure Seekers
E. Nesbit
We shall have about tuppence a year, but Letty doesn't mind that.
First Plays
A. A. Milne

British Dictionary definitions for tuppence

tuppence

noun

British a variant spelling of twopence

twopence

tuppence

noun British

the sum of two pennies

(used with a negative) something of little value (in the phrase not care or give twopence)

a former British silver coin, now only coined as Maundy money

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 tuppence

mid-15c., to-pens, representing the common pronunciation of twopence (see two + pence).