halpeni
Middle English
Alternative forms
- Singular:
- (with the first element, half- or alf-, preserved) halfpenī, halfpanī, alfpenī
- (with the first element reduced to hal-, al-, ha-, or hel-) halpenie, halpeneī, halpanī, alpenī, hapenī, helpenī
- Plural:
- (without loss of final vowel and g) halpeniges
- (without loss of final vowel, whence modern halfpennies) halpenī̆s, halpenes, halfpenies
- (with loss of final vowel, whence modern halfpence) halpens, halpans, halpons, alpens, halfpens
Etymology
From Late Old English halpenige, equivalent to half + penī (“penny”).
Noun
halpenī (plural halpenī̆s)
- a halfpenny
- a halfpenny given in charity
- (biblical, Goddes halpenī) a coin from biblical times, a small foreign coin
- (nautical, galeie halpenī) a small foreign coin
- (halpenī of gold) an English gold coin worth five shillings, equivalent to a crown
- (used in compounds, attributive) costing a halfpenny, weighing as much as halfpenny
Descendants
- English: halfpenny, ha'penny