finnuf

English

Etymology

From Yiddish פֿינף (finf, five). Doublet of cinque, fin (five currency units), five, pimp (five), ponzu, punch (beverage), and sengi (currency).

Noun

finnuf (plural finnufs)

  1. (UK, slang, archaic) A five-pound (£5) note; the sum of five pounds.
    • 1927, Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, Ladies and Gentlemen, page 129:
      Them that puts the most steam into it will get a finnuf slipped to 'em.
    • 1949, Theodore Bonnet, The Mudlark, page 216:
      "Ya-ar, she's rich, ain't she? Wotjer think? I lay they got a 'aul! Sixty bob, may be. And crowns! And finnufs! Ar!"

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