/ˈheɪpnɪz/, /ˈheɪpənɪz/, U.S. /ˈheɪp(ə)niz/, /ˈhæfˌpɛniz/, halfpence Brit. /ˈheɪp(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˈheɪpəns/, /ˈhæfˌpɛns/.halfpennyn.
/ˈheɪpni/, /ˈheɪpəni/, U.S. /ˈheɪp(ə)ni/, /ˈhæfˌpɛni/ (in sense 1a also)Brit. /ˌhɑːfˈpɛni/, U.S. /ˌhæfˈpɛni//ˈheɪpnɪz/, /ˈheɪpənɪz/, U.S. /ˈheɪp(ə)niz/, /ˈhæfˌpɛniz/, halfpence Brit. /ˈheɪp(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˈheɪpəns/, /ˈhæfˌpɛns/.α. early Middle English halpenig- (inflected form), Middle English alpeny, Middle English halpany, Middle English halpeney, Middle English halpeni, Middle English helpeny- (in compounds), Middle English 1600s– hapeny (now English regional), Middle English–1500s halpenye, Middle English–1600s halpeny, 1500s hapeney, 1500s 1700s– happenny (now historical), 1500s–1600s halpenie, 1500s–1600s halpenny, 1600s– hapenny, 1600s– ha'penny; English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s awpenny, 1800s awpney, 1800s haapenny, 1800s hapmy, 1800s haupenny, 1800s hawpenny, 1800s hawpney, 1800s hawpny, 1800s hawp'ny, 1800s haypenny, 1800s ho'penny; also Scottish pre-1700 halpane, pre-1700 halpenny, pre-1700 halpeny, pre-1700 halpenye, pre-1700 happenie; Irish English (Wexford) 1800s haapney.
β. Middle English alfpeny, Middle English–1500s halfepenye, Middle English–1600s halfepeny, Middle English–1700s halfpeny, 1500s halfepennye, 1500s halfpennye, 1500s halfpenye, 1500s–1600s halfepenie, 1500s–1600s halfepennie, 1500s–1600s halfepenny, 1500s–1600s halfpenie, 1500s–1600s halfpennie, 1500s– halfpenny, 1600s halfpeney; also Scottish pre-1700 halfpenne, pre-1700 half penney, pre-1700 halfpeny, pre-1700 1700s halfpennie.
2. Plural.α. early Middle English halpenes, Middle English halpeniges, Middle English halpenis, Middle English halpenys, 1800s awpennies (English regional (Cheshire)), 1800s– ha'pennies; Scottish pre-1700 halpenneis, pre-1700 happennis.
β. Middle English alpens, Middle English halpans, Middle English halpenns, Middle English halpons, Middle English–1500s halpens, 1600s– ha'pence, 1800s haf penc (English regional (East Anglian)), 1800s happunce (English regional (Cornwall)).
γ. Middle English–1600s halfpenyes, late Middle English 1600s halfpenies, 1500s– halfpennies, 1600s 1800s halfpennys; also Scottish pre-1700 halfe peneis, pre-1700 halfpenneis, pre-1700 halfpennyes, pre-1700 halfpennyis, pre-1700 halfpennys, pre-1700 halfpenyes.
δ. late Middle English–1500s halfpens, 1500s–1600s halfepence, 1500s– halfpence.
/ˈheɪpni/ remain frequent (and in British English usual) in most uses, even when the word is written halfpenny (as also for the plural forms halfpennies and halfpence ); for the phonology, see discussion at half adj. The plural halfpennies (now historical) refers to the individual coins only; halfpence is usually collective, or expresses the sum however made up. Possible earlier currency in Old English. Earlier currency is probably implied by the (11th-cent.) composition date of quot. c1275 at sense 1a, and perhaps also by halfpennyworth n. Compare also (in different sense) Old English healf pening , denoting half a pennyweight (compare penny n. 6), in which the first element is treated as a normal adjective inflected for case and number. 1.
a. Originally: a coin of the English (later British) currency of half the value of a penny; the amount represented by this, a sum equivalent to two farthings. Later (from 15 February 1971 until 1984): the smallest coin of British decimal currency, having the value of half a new penny, or 1/ 200 of a pound; the amount represented by this. Also: a similar coin or amount in the currency of another country, e.g. Scotland or Ireland before they became part of the United Kingdom, or Ireland between 1928 and 1986.Silver halfpennies were first issued during the reign of Edward I (1272–1307), and continued to be minted until the time of the Commonwealth (1649–60). Copper halfpennies were first struck during the reign of Charles II (1660–85); after 1860 they were of bronze. As no copper pennies were struck until 1797, the halfpenny was the only copper coin in circulation for some time and the plural form halfpence came to be used colloquially to refer to copper or bronze coins collectively.After the decimalization of British currency in 1971, halfpenny was often written as two words and pronounced
Brit. /ˌhɑːf ˈpɛni/
, /ˌhɑːf ˈpɛni/U.S. /ˌhæf ˈpɛni/
. The British decimal halfpenny was demonetized on 31 December 1984, and now the sum, when reference to it is necessary, is more usually denoted by half a penny, or (in writing) ½p or 0.5p.In earliest use apparently as a unit of account or perhaps alluding to the practice of cutting silver pennies into halves to obtain a lower denomination. With quot. c1200 compare halfling n. 2./ˌhæf ˈpɛni/ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > halfpenny
halfpennyc1330
ob.1389
galley-halfpenny1409
obolusc1450
make?1536
mail1570
meg?1738
mag?1775
tumbling tom1826
magpie1838
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > halfpenny > decimal halfpenny
halfpenny1969
c1200 ( West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Hatton) xii. 6 Ne becypað hyo fif sparewen to halpenige [OE Corpus Cambr. helflinge; L. dipundio], & an nis of þam ofergyten before Gode?
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 76 Twa & þreo, hu feole beoð þeo? þreo halpenes makeð a peni, amen.
c1275 ( Agreement with Ordric the Cellarer, Bury St. Edmunds in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 220 An sea þat sit on oderes land sea sceal gifen oan halpeni for þat he aalle scolden sceren þe halegenes corn.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 193 More likeþ oþerhuil to god an alfpeny þet a poure yefþ gledliche..þanne a riche man yeaue an hondred marc grochindeliche.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xii. 6 Wher fiue sparrowis ben not seeld for tweyne halpens [L. dipundio et unus]?
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 98 Ye clerke, a peny; ye deen, a alpeny.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 5741 Edward did smyte rounde peny, halfpeny, ferthyng.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 223 Nouȝt worþ an halpeny.
1478 G. Cely Let. 8 May in Cely Lett. (1975) 21 At thys tyme ther ys no merchant þat spende an grott in the towne of Calles but they lesse an halpeny.
1536 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1871) II. 79 Ilk seruand sall pay his wkly halfpenny to the wphalding of devyne seruice.
1579 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1889) IV. 193 A quart of ale or bere for a penne and a pynte for a hapeney.
1591 R. Bruce Serm. Edinb. sig. M2 They had rather lose their soules ane hundreth times, or they wared ane halfpenie vpon the Kirk.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 181 To the Philosopher, three halfpence.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. viii. 73 There are Thousands who would not have contributed a single Halfpenny . View more context for this quotation
1796 J. Farington Diary 24 July (1923) I. xliv. 154 He often made a jumble in his reports..mistaking halfpence for guineas.
1817 Sydney Gaz. 4 Jan. He continues to supply them with the finest wheaten bread, at the reduced Price of One Half-Penny per Loaf under the Assize.
1849 W. Irving Oliver Goldsmith (rev. ed.) vi. 79 Adrift upon the town, with but a few half-pence in his pocket.
1928 Irish Times 22 Nov. 7/7 The halfpenny will be ‘leath-phingín’, the shilling a ‘scillíng’, and the half-crown ‘leath-choróinn’.
1975 Daily Tel. 5 May 1/4 Bread prices go up today.., sending the standard loaf up by a halfpenny to 16p.
2015 I. Madden in New Writing Scotl. 33 111 Coinage of all descriptions cascaded on to the mantle: pennies, farthings, halfpennies, threepenny bits, sixpences and the occasional shilling.
b. A postage stamp costing a halfpenny. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > postal services > payment for postage > [noun] > postage stamp > types of
black1863
penny black1863
local1865
error1866
toadskin1867
fiscal1869
imperforate1874
tête-bêche1874
halfpenny1881
provisional1885
British colonial1902
precancel1903
definitive1929
airmail1930
pictorial1934
perfin1945
1881 Stamp-collector's Ann. 9 The penny adhesive stamp of the new type..appeared on the 1st of January, and was followed by the halfpenny and three-halfpence on the 14th October.
1937 Ottumwa (Iowa) Daily Courier 24 Feb. 4/6 The total number of ‘Jipex’ stamps printed was 105,000-odd half-pennies and a few thousand more pennies.
1994 R. Opie in J. Elsner & R. Cardinal Cultures of Collecting ii. 30 There were six ha'pennies with the least postmark on them.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > small piece
fingereOE
snedec1000
seed?a1200
morselc1300
bittlock?a1400
farthingc1405
spota1413
lipetc1430
offe?1440
drewc1450
remnantc1450
parcel1483
crap1520
flakec1525
patch1528
spark1548
a piece1559
sparklec1570
inch1573
nibbling?1577
scantling1585
scrat1593
mincing1598
scantle1598
halfpenny1600
quantity1600
nip1606
kantch1608
bit1609
catch1613
scripa1617
snap1616
sippeta1625
crumblet1634
scute1635
scantleta1642
snattock1654
cantlet1700
tab1729
pallion1738
smallness1818
knobble1823
wisp1836
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 137 O she tore the letter into a thousand halfpence . View more context for this quotation
3. Chiefly U.S. and Australian. An earmark, usually semicircular in shape, cut in the ears of farm animals as a means of identification. Cf. Compounds 1c. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [noun] > branding or marking > ear-mark
earmarka1500
swallow fork1636
crop1653
halfpenny1658
gad1666
underkeel1677
lug-mark1802
underbit1837
sleepering1910
1658 in Rec. East-Hampton, N.Y. (1887) I. 151 John woodroff marked a horse colt wth a hapeny under the left eare.
1774 in R. G. Thwaites & L. P. Kellogg Documentary Hist. Dunmore's War (1905) 68 One Steer & the Cow mark'd a Crop & half penny in ye Near Ear half penny in the of[f] Ear.
1845 Early Rec. Portsmouth, R.I. (1901) 387 The Ear Mark of the Creatures of David Baker is two half pennys before the near or left ear.
1864 E. C. Leigh & L. W. Cave Crown Cases Reserved (1866) 428 I mark my sheep ‘J.G.’.., round half-penny in the near ear, square half-penny in the off ear.
1953 South Eastern Times (Millicent, S. Austral.) 27 Oct. 4/1 Lost,—1 yearling Hereford at Mt. McIntyre, half-penny near ear and slot bottom off ear.
Phrases
halfpenny of gold n. Obsolete (historical in later use) an English gold coin, current in the 14th and 15th centuries, usually identified with the half noble (half noble n.).
ΘΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > English coins > [noun] > crown or five shillings
halfpenny of gold1463
crown1526
crown piece1613
decus1688
British-crown1695
bull's-eye1699
petition crown1745
Britain crown1793
bull1819
caser1825
Oxford scholar1937
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 15 (MED) I be qwethe to the Prior a good purs and a halpenye of gold ther in.
a1605 (c1422) T. Hoccleve Complaint (Durh.) l. 122 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 114 How shall the pore do yf in his holde no more money he ne have at all, par cas but a noble or halfpeny of golde.
1657 J. Philipot Camden's Remaines (new ed.) 187 This King [sc. Edward III] coyned also half Nobles, called then the half penny of gold.
1740 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 107/2 ½ Noble (called Obolus, or Half-penny of Gold).
1845 J. Lindsay View Coinage Scotl. 126 This latter act [of 1393]..directs the halfpenny of gold, viz. the Maille if of sufficient weight should pass for thirty-two pennies.
P2. † a. to have one's hand (also heart) on one's halfpenny and variants: to be set on a particular goal, purpose, or aim, esp. one involving personal gain. Similarly to have one's hand on another halfpenny. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > intend [verb] > have a purpose in doing something
to have one's hand on another halfpennya1577
to have one's hand on one's halfpennya1577
to be not doing (something) for one's health1887
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. vi. sig. Biii So hard is your hand set on your halpeny: That my reasonyng your reason setteth nought by.
a1577 G. Gascoigne Posies in Wks. (1587) 255 But his mystresse having hyr hand on another halfpeny gan thus say unto him.
1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late i. 44 Francesco that was tied by the eies, & had his hart on his halfpeny, could not deny her.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 159 The Frier, in Chaucer,..hauing his hand vpon his halfepennie, makes this request to the bed-rid man lying vpon his couch.
a1664 J. Wood Shepherdy Spiritualiz'd (1680) 175 They..sit there very demurely, as though they would remember and practise whatsoever he said but their heart was on their half-penny all the while.
1707 H. Gyles Let. 9 Aug. in Lett. Eminent Men to R. Thoresby (1832) II. 62 I quickly found they had their hand too much upon their halfpenny.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) 216 ‘To have his hand on his hawpny’, a proverbial phrase for being ever attentive to his own interest.
b. British slang. to keep one's hand on one's halfpenny: (esp. of a woman) to refrain from sexual activity; to remain chaste or celibate.
Π
1970 D. Clark Deadly Pattern vi. 146 ‘You were trying to find out whether she'd been keeping her hand on her ha'penny or not.’ ‘Quite right. She took her hand off it when she was sixteen, I suspect.’
1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 10 Oct. 8 My mum always says: ‘Keep your hand on your halfpenny’—it's so embarrassing.
2019 Sunday Times (Nexis) 17 Mar. 74 Best advice I was given... ‘Keep your hand on your ha'penny and your legs crossed.’
P3. not a halfpenny the worse and variants: not harmed or disadvantaged in the slightest degree. Now rare.
Π
1603 S. Harsnett Declar. Popish Impostures 17 Syluester, Bonifacius, and some other Popes, haue beene errand deuill-coniurers, and yet theyr holinesse not an halfepeny the worse.
1711 R. Cooper Country-man's Proposal (ed. 2) (title page) The Farmer shews how..to maintain this War with France Twenty Years, and the Nation not one Half-penny the worse.
1878 R. L. Stevenson in Cornhill Mag. Mar. 356 His soul has as many lives as a cat; he will live in all weathers, and never be a halfpenny the worse.
1941 F. Thompson Over to Candleford in Lark Rise to Candleford (2009) xxiv. 339 He returned to his bed, apparently not a ha'penny the worse for his airing.
P4.
halfpenny under the hat n. a gambling game in which players must guess whether a halfpenny hidden under a hat is heads or tails up.Apparently only with reference to, or in allusion to, Plate 3 of William Hogarth's Industry and Idleness, ‘The Idle 'Prentice at Play in the Church Yard, during Divine Service’ (1747), in which a young man is depicted playing such a game.
ΘΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > other games of chance > [noun]
even or odd1538
love1585
Jack-in-the-box?1593
under-hat1629
pluck-penny1643
morra1659
catch-dolt1674
shuffle-cap1712
fair chance1723
E O1751
teetotum1753
rondo1821
cut-throat1823
hop-my-fool1824
odds and evens1841
spin-'em-round1851
halfpenny under the hat1853
racehorses1853
fan-tan1878
tan1883
pakapoo1886
legality1888
petits chevaux1891
pai gow1906
boule1911
put and take1921
1853 W. M. Thackeray Eng. Humourists v. 225 Tom lies on a tomb-stone outside playing at halfpenny-under-the-hat, with street blackguards.
1879 A. Dobson Hogarth vi. 66 There is no finer stroke in Hogarth than that by which the miserable player at ‘halfpenny-under-the hat,’..is shown to have but a plank between him and the grave.
1955 Times 19 Dec. 7/4 Naughty boys, who ought to have been in church, were known to sit on tombstones playing halfpenny-under-the-hat.
P5. more kicks than halfpence: see kick n.1 1c.
Compounds
C1. As a modifier.
a. With the sense ‘involving the price or value of a halfpenny; costing a halfpenny’, as in halfpenny ballad, halfpenny dole, halfpenny loaf, halfpenny stamp, etc. See also halfpennyworth n. 1.
ΚΠ
1311 in G. C. Homans Eng. Villagers 13th Cent. (1975) 448 De Roberto Crane quia ludebat alpenypricke in opere domini .iij. d.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. vii. l. 293 Ne non halfpeny Ale In none wyse drynke.
?1418–19 in F. J. Furnivall Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 40 Smale Halpeney Loves.
1433 Bridgewater Borough Munim. 12 (MED) For a halpeny corde.
a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1907) I. 111 Hit is ordeyned that þe Cokes frohensfurth make halpeny pyes as other Townes doth.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iii. iii. sig. E.j I will crie halfepenie doale for your worshyp.
1612 Bk. Customs & Valuation in A. Halyburton Ledger (1867) 309 Glasses called looking glasses, halfpenny wair the groce,..xls., penny wair the groce, iiii li.
1652 Laughing Mercury No. 23. 178 Have the favor to sop his half-penny morsel in her dripping-pan.
1709 Brit. Apollo 23–25 Nov. I sent it by the Halfpenny-Post.
1762 J. Boswell Jrnl. 21 Dec. in London Jrnl. (1950) 99 A halfpenny roll,..which I had bought at a baker's.
1841 E. Miall in Nonconformist 1 242 One may hear timid, down-looking, straighthaired dissenters who speak as small as a halfpenny whistle.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. v. 33 A choice collection of halfpenny ballads.
1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay (U.K. ed.) iii. iv. 423 I lost three pounds..at ha'penny nap and euchre.
1939 P.G. Wodehouse Let. 4 Jan. in Yours, Plum (1990) i. 73 I came within an ace of buying Pete two shillings' worth of halfpenny stamps, to replace those I pinched.
2003 S. Mackay Heligoland (2004) iv. 55 They watched them like hawks, so that it was difficult to get away with even a halfpenny chew.
b. colloquial (depreciative). With the sense ‘of little value or importance, not worthy of consideration or respect’. Cf. twopenny-halfpenny adj. at twopenny adj. and n. Derivatives, three-halfpenny adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible
unworthlyc1230
wretcha1250
seely1297
vilec1320
not worth a cress (kerse)1377
the value of a rushc1380
threadbarec1412
wretched1450
miserable?a1513
rascal1519
prettya1522
not worth a whistlea1529
pegrall1535
plack1539
pelting1540
scald1542
sleeveless1551
baggage1553
paltering1553
piddling1559
twopenny1560
paltry1565
rubbish1565
baggagely1573
pelfish1577
halfpenny1579
palting1579
baubling1581
three-halfpenny1581
pitiful1582
triobolar1585
squirting1589
not worth a lousea1592
hedge1596
cheap1597
peddling1597
dribbling1600
mean1600
rascally1600
three-farthingc1600
draughty1602
dilute1605
copper1609
peltry?a1610
threepenny1613
pelsy1631
pimping1640
triobolary1644
pigwidgeon1647
dustya1649
fiddling1652
puddlinga1653
insignificant1658
piteous1667
snotty1681
scrubbed1688
dishonourable1699
scrub1711
footy1720
fouty1722
rubbishing1731
chuck-farthing1748
rubbishy1753
shabby1753
scrubby1754
poxya1758
rubbishly1777
waff-like1808
trinkety1817
meanish1831
one-eyed1843
twiddling1844
measly1847
poking1850
picayunish1852
vild1853
picayune1856
snide1859
two-cent1859
rummagy1872
faddling1883
finicking1886
slushy1889
twopence halfpenny1890
jerk1893
pissy1922
crappy1928
two-bit1932
piddly1933
chickenshit1934
pissing1937
penny packet1943
farkakte1960
pony1964
gay1978
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [adjective] > contemptible
unworthc893
unwrastc893
littleOE
narrow-hearteda1200
wretcha1200
unworthya1240
wretchedc1250
un-i-wrastc1275
bad1276
lechera1300
feeblea1325
despisablea1340
villain1340
contemptiblec1384
lousyc1386
caitiff1393
brothelyc1400
roinousa1425
poor1425
sevenpennyc1475
nasty1477
peakish1519
filthy1533
despectuous1541
beggary1542
scald1542
shitten?1545
disdainfula1547
contemptuous1549
despicable1553
skit-brained?1553
contemniblea1555
vile1560
sluttish1561
queer1567
scornful1570
scallardc1575
tinkerly?1576
worthless1576
beggarly?1577
paltry1578
halfpenny1579
dog bolt1580
pitiful1582
sneaking1582
triobolar1585
wormisha1586
baddy1586
dudgeon1592
measled1596
packstaff1598
roguey1598
roguish1601
contemptful1608
grovelling1608
lightly1608
disdainable1611
purulent1611
snotty-nose1622
vilipendious1630
cittern-headed1638
wormy1640
pissabed1643
triobolary1644
disparageable1648
blue-bellied1652
unestimable1656
scullion1658
piteous1667
dirty1670
shabbed1674
shabby1679
snotty1681
snotty-nosed1682
mucky1683
bollocky1694
scoundrel1700
scaldeda1704
sneaking1703
ficulnean1716
unsolid1731
pitiable1753
scrubby1754
inimitable1798
scrubbish1798
worm-likea1807
small1824
lowlife1827
ketty1828
skunkish1831
yellow-bellied1833
scaly1843
cockroachya1845
wutless1853
nigger1859
trashy1862
low-down1872
cruddy1877
shitty1879
tinhorn1886
blithering1889
motherfucking1890
snidey1890
pilgarlicky1894
shitass1895
shoddy1918
yah boo1921
bitching1929
shit-faced1932
turdish1936
fricking1937
jerk-off1937
chickenshit1940
sheg-up1941
snot-nosed1941
jerky1944
mother-loving1948
scroungy1948
fecking1952
pissant1952
shit-kicking1953
shit-eating1956
bumboclaat1957
rassclaat1957
shit-headed1959
farkakte1960
shithouse1966
daggy1967
dipshit1968
scuzzy1969
bloodclaat1971
bitch ass1972
wanky1972
streelish1974
twatty1975
twattish1976
dweeby1988
douchey1991
wank1991
cockish1996
1566 J. Martiall Replie to Calfhills Blasphemous Answer iii. f. 77 He trauayleth..in such halfpenny doctours, as haue written these later yeres, as Luther, Bucer, Caluin, [etc.].
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 481/1 These halfpenie knaues (as they cal them) these syr Iohns that are hired for three halfe pence, or two pence, or two pence halfe pennie.
1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 93 A Low-Pad is a base Sheep-stealing half-penny Rogue.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 2 Obliged to go on all her halfpenny Errands.
1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy I. i. 3 Whether right or wrong, 'tis not a halfpenny matter.
1853 Fraser's Mag. Feb. 222/1 This, with the addition of a solitary fact recorded by the halfpenny poet before mentioned..is all that we know of Marlowe's personal history.
1908 H. L. Mencken Philos. Nietzsche 284 Reich..has attained the ha'penny celebrity he seems to crave in much the same manner.
1983 P. Brown & S. Gaines Love You Make (2002) 170 This is just a ha'penny little bourgeois house.
2018 @grahamwkidd 21 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 27 Nov. 2019) Malcolm Tucker would have drawn and quartered this ha'penny idiot for less!
c. Chiefly U.S. and Australian. Designating a cut or notch, typically semicircular in shape, made in the ears of farm animals as a means of identification, as halfpenny mark, halfpenny slit, etc. Cf. sense 3. Now rare.
Π
1750 in F. O. Allen Hist. Enfield Connecticut (1900) III. 2483 A Crop off of the Left Ear and Two Half penny Cuts the Under Side of the Same Ear.
1825 Morning Post 15 July Had she a slit in the ear?—Yes.—Was it a halfpenny slit?
1871 New S. Wales Govt. Gaz. 3 Oct. 2237/2 Black or brown horse, hobble on off fore leg, halfpenny mark near ear.
1953 Muswellbrook (New S. Wales) Chron. 6 Jan. 3/4 One Silver Jersey heifer, branded R and a blotted letter, half penny ear mark on off side ear.
C2.
halfpenny farthing n. now historical the sum of three quarters of a penny, equivalent to a halfpenny and a farthing (or three farthings).
Π
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Drachma argenteum, a coyne whereof .viii. made an ounce, which is of our money after the rate of this present tyme v. pens halfpeny farthing, an ounce conteininge .xi. grotes and .ii. pence.
1652 French Occurr. No. 26. 176 These jugling Treasurers and Accomptants..who from pence and halfpenny-farthing, are now grown by corruption, and oppressing the people, to some hundreds.
1793 W. Cowper Let. 5 Oct. (1984) IV. 411 They were silly enough, and cost me eighteen pence, which was seventeen pence half penny farthing more than they were worth.
1889 Star (St. Peter Port, Guernsey) 18 May Small duty on beer; only a halfpenny-farthing per hogshead.
2011 Times & Transcript (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 28 July d7 Reduced to..begging piteously for ha'penny farthings with a rusty little tin tea-cup.
halfpenny place n. (frequently in form ha'penny place) chiefly Irish English a subordinate or unimportant place, position, or status; esp. in in the halfpenny place.In quot. 1897 apparently used euphemistically, with reference to a threat of violence or death.
Π
1897 Belfast News-let. 28 Sept. 3/7 He..said if she [sc. the witness] gave his wife the key he would put her (witness) in the ‘halfpenny’ place.
1901 Connaught Tel. 9 Mar. 4/5 It's gallivanting on the stage they are—transmogrificated into a theatrical company! There's evolution for you! Why,—the Darwinian Missing Link is only in the ha'penny place!
1998 S. Barry Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty v. 61 Something occurs that puts such straight-forward matters in the halfpenny place.
2021 Irish Times (Nexis) 16 Oct. 15 What a nest of vipers it [sc. the book] reveals; the archest of Shakespearean arch-villains would be in the ha'penny place beside some of them.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).
<
n.c1200- unicorn hawk
- unicorn hornbill
- unicorn horse
- unicorn narwhal
- unicorn omnibus
- unicorn team
- unicorn whale
- unicorn-bird
- unicorn-crested
- unicorn-fish
- unicorn-ivory
- unicorn-like
- unicorn-moth
- unicorn-plant
- unicorn-root
- unicorn-shell
- unicornbird
- unicorncrested
- unicorneal
- unicornfish
- unicornic
- unicornivory
- unicornlike
- unicornmoth
- unicornous