halfpenny

halfpenny · noun¹

1. Old English · derived fromhalpene
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*panningaz“coin, penny”
3. Old English · derived frompenning
4. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱel-“to incline”
5. Old English · inherited fromhealf
6. Middle English · derived fromhalpeni
7. English todayhalfpenny

From Middle English halpeni, halfpeni (“English coin worth half a penny; coin used in biblical times; small foreign coin”), and then either: * from half (“half”) (from Old English healf; ultimate etymology unknown, possible from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to incline”) or *(s)kelH- (“to cut; to separate, split”)) + peni, penni (“English coin; coin used in biblical times; foreign coin; (especially in the plural) cash, money; pennyweight”) (from Old English penning, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz (“coin, penny”); further etymology uncertain); or * from Late Old English halpene, halpenige (which can also be construed as early Middle English), from healf + penning (see above). By surface analysis, half + penny.

Halfpenny · proper noun²

From halfpenny, a nickname for a tenant.

Words from the same roots