Etymology

penny

pen·ny
P3E1N1N1Y4

Today it means: In the United Kingdom and Ireland and many other countries, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₂₄₀ of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: d. Full definition →

Middle English peny ← Old English peniġ ← Proto-West Germanic *panning
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penny · noun, verb1

  1. Ancient Greekπᾰτᾰ́νη (pătắnē)
  2. Latinpatina
  3. Latinpanna?
  4. Latinpannus?
  5. Proto-Germanic*panningaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*panning
  7. Old Englishpeniġ
  8. Middle Englishpeny
  9. English todaypenny

From Middle English peny, from Old English peniġ, penniġ, penning (“penny”), from Proto-West Germanic *panning, from Proto-Germanic *panningaz, of uncertain origin (see that page for theories). Doublet of pfennig and fening.

Penny · proper noun2

From Pen(elope) + -y.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishpeny all →

pence

Old Englishpeniġ all →

hearth-penny

Proto-Germanic*panningaz all →

halfpenny

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.