ninepence
English
Noun
ninepence (plural ninepences)
- (obsolete, British) A former British silver coin, worth nine old pennies.
- 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, canto 1:
- His wits were sent him for a token, \ But in the carriage crack'd and broken. \ Like commendation nine-pence, crookt \ With—to and from my love—it lookt.
- (obsolete, British) Nine old pennies.
- 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 137:
- I had sold it to her that morning for ninepence; the real price was a shilling, but it was somewhat shopworn.
- (obsolete, New England) A Spanish real, valued at twelve and a half cents.
Derived terms
- commendation ninepence
- neat as ninepence
- nice as ninepence
- right as ninepence
References
- “ninepence”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
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