eightpence

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noun

A former coin worth eight pence; the monetary amount of eight pence.

OriginEnglish pence ← Middle English penies ← Old English peniġ →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nouneightpence (countable and uncountable, plural eightpences)

plural eightpences

  1. countablehistoricaluncountablehobbiesA former coin worth eight pence; the monetary amount of eight pence.

    […] I went for a night to a lodging-house in Bow, where the charge was only eightpence.

    1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XXV, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*oḱtṓw
  2. Proto-Germanic*ahtōu
  3. Proto-West Germanic*ahtō
  4. Old Englisheahta
  5. Middle Englisheighte
  6. Englisheight
  7. Ancient Greekπᾰτᾰ́νη (pătắnē)
  8. Latinpatina
  9. Latinpanna?
  10. Latinpannus?
  11. Proto-Germanic*panningaz
  12. Proto-West Germanic*panning
  13. Old Englishpeniġ
  14. Middle Englishpenies
  15. Englishpence
  16. Englisheightpence

From eight + pence.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eightpence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eightpence

MLA

“eightpence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eightpence. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eightpence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eightpence.

Source: eightpence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.