pence
English
Etymology
14th century contraction of penies (“pennies”), collective plural of penny.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɛns/ (stressed), /pəns/ (unstressed and in compounds)
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛns
Noun
pence
- plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound).
Usage notes
- This is the collective plural, used when referring to a sum of money, as in These apples are twenty pence each. When referring to several coins each worth one penny, the correct plural is pennies, as in I have one tenpence coin and three pennies.
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Arabic: بِنْس (bins)
- → Chinese:
- Mandarin: 便士 (biànshì)
- → Esperanto: penco
- → Hindi: पेन्स pl (pens)
- → Marathi: पेन्स pl (pensa)
- → Norwegian:
- → Polish: pens
- → Russian: пенс (pens)
- → Uyghur: پەنس (pens)
References
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “pence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɛns/
Noun
pence m
- indefinite plural of penny