Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A British coin worth one half of a new penny.
- noun A British coin worth one half of an old penny, no longer in circulation.
- noun The sum of one half of a penny.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A coin of the value of half a penny, current in the British islands; the value of such coin.
- noun A small fragment.
- Of the price or value of half a penny; hence, cheap; mean; worthless.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An English coin of the value of half a penny, no longer minted; also, the value of half a penny.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
discontinued Britishcoin worth half of onepenny (old or new). - noun An quantity of money worth half a penny.
- adjective Costing or worth one halfpenny.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an English coin worth half a penny
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Ah! God help you, how many bristly beards must I have mowed before I earned four shillings and threepence-halfpenny, which is all thrown to the dogs!
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In those days a halfpenny was a fortune, and in order to gain it I had not far to stoop, for I was so tiny there was not much distance between me and the ground; but my pride was up in arms, and holding myself very erect, I said, "No, thank you, Mamma, I would rather go without it."
Story of a Soul (l'Histoire d'une Ame): The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux 1873-1897 1912
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In those days a halfpenny was a fortune, and in order to gain it I had not far to stoop, for I was so tiny there was not much distance between me and the ground; but my pride was up in arms, and holding myself very erect, I said, “No, thank you, Mamma, I would rather go without it.”
The Story of a Soul Lisieux, St Therese of 1912
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Two of them, in a scale, weighed down just one copper halfpenny, which is about the third of an ounce avoirdupois: so that I suppose they are the smallest quadrupeds in this island.
The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 Gilbert White 1756
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Ah! God help you, how many bristly beards must I have mowed before I earned four shillings and threepence-halfpenny, which is all thrown to the dogs!
The Adventures of Roderick Random Tobias George Smollett 1746
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In those days a halfpenny was a fortune, and in order to gain it I had not far to stoop, for I was so tiny there was not much distance between me and the ground; but my pride was up in arms, and holding myself very erect, I said, "No, thank you,
The Story of a Soul (L'Histoire d'une Âme): The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux With Additional Writings and Sayings of St. Thérèse de Lisieux Th��r��se 1885
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Reader Philip Hutchinson remembers four special stamps, costing just a halfpenny less than two shillings.
Hugh Muir's diary 2011
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I am not independently wealthy and renaming myself "The Hugs and Snuffles Cats' Home" by deed poll has gained me not a halfpenny in bequests.
'Free' healthcare? That has to be the greatest oxymoron of our age | AL Kennedy 2011
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A story can never be too long, for its conclusion is merely to be deplored, like the last halfpenny or the last pipelight.
Quoth G.K.C. superversive 2009
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The Libraries Act of 1850 empowered larger local authorities to add a halfpenny to the rate to run a free public library – but not to buy books, or raise the capital to build it.
Letters: Can philanthropy again come to the help of public libraries? 2011
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