spear penny

noun

A fine under medieval Welsh law levied on related male landowners when the immediate kin of a murderer proved incapable of paying galanas

OriginWelsh ceiniog baladr →
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Meanings

noun
  1. historicallawA fine under medieval Welsh law levied on related male landowners when the immediate kin of a murderer proved incapable of paying galanas

Origin

  1. Welshceiniog baladr
  2. Englishspear penny

From spear + penny, a calque translation of the Welsh ceiniog baladr, from ceiniog (“penny”) + paladr (“shaft"; "spear”).

More words from Welsh

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

spear penny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spear%20penny

MLA

“spear penny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spear%20penny. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spear penny,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spear%20penny.

Source: spear penny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.