pennyworth

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.

The first records of the word pennyworth come from before 1000. It comes from the Old English word penigweorth, which is a combination of the words that preceded penny and worth.

Pennyworth and halfpennyworth are no longer commonly used, and the same goes for even more old-timey-sounding terms like tuppence worth. However, worth is still commonly used in the same way in similar terms like dollar’s worth, as in I bought nine dollar’s worth of fabric. 

In pop culture, the word serves as the last name of Alfred Pennyworth, trusty British butler of Bruce Wayne and confidant of Wayne’s alter-ego, Batman.

What are some other forms related to pennyworth?

• penn’orth (contracted spelling)

What are some synonyms for pennyworth?

• penny’s worth
• halfpennyworth (when used figuratively)

What are some words that share a root or word element with pennyworth? 

• halfpennyworth
• penny
• worth

What are some words that often get used in discussing pennyworth?

• amount
• small
• tiny
• portion
• candy
• butler

What are some words pennyworth may be commonly confused with?

• pennywort

The word pennyworth is not commonly used anymore. Its literal use is especially rare.

The Mary Trump book is out July 28; I might get a copy, but Bolton? no. I wouldn't send a pennyworth of commerce in Bolton's direction. At this point the information in his book isn't even worth a penny.
Bolton, the miserable coward, deserves nothing but our collective ostracism.

— Eric Whitney (@EricExtempore) June 17, 2020

Stay warm!

"All hot!–if you are cold,/ Have a pennyworth of heat,/ Something nice and warm to hold,/ Something nice and warm to eat," says the Chestnut Woman in this late Victorian book of children’s poetry: https://t.co/2DS4mQuLf0 pic.twitter.com/Ayxl9TDZ2C

— WorldDigitalLibrary (@WDLorg) December 28, 2017

O, if only we had a pennyworth of sadness, / quietness without anger, love without jealousy! -Boris Chichibabin

— Poets House (@poetshouse) February 10, 2015

True or False? 

Pennyworth can be used figuratively to mean a small amount.