halfpenny
(ˈheɪpənɪ, dial. ˈhɑːfpənɪ, ˈhɑːpənɪ, ˈhapənɪ, ˈhapnɪ)
Also α. 4–7 halfe-, 4–8 half-, -peny, -ie, -ye; β. 4 (alpeny), 4–5 halpeny(e, 6 hapeney, happenny, (dial. hawpny), 9– ha'penny, hapenny. Pl. halfpennies (ˈheɪpənɪz), halfpence (ˈheɪpəns). Also 4 halpenns, 5–6 halpens.
[f. half a. + penny. The pl. halfpennies means the individual coins only; halfpence is usually collective, or expresses the sum however made up.]
1. a. A coin (formerly of copper, subsequently of bronze) of half the value of a penny; a sum equivalent to two farthings. halfpenny farthing = three farthings (3/4d.); three halfpence or a penny halfpenny, the ordinary expressions for 1½d.
The halfpenny was first issued by Edward I, of silver. Under Charles II copper halfpennies were first struck; after 1860 they were of bronze. From Charles I to George III no copper pennies were struck, whence halfpence was colloquially used for copper or bronze coins collectively. After the decimalization of the U.K. coinage in 1971, halfpenny was often written as two words and pronounced (ˈhɑːf ˈpɛnɪ). It was demonetized on 31 Dec. 1984.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 238 Edward did smyte rounde peny, halfpeny, ferthyng. 1382 Wyclif Luke xii. 6 Wher fiue sparrowis ben not seeld for tweyne halpens? 1389 Eng. Gilds 98 Þe clerke, a peny; þe deen, a alpeny. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. cxcviii. 177 Not worth an halfepenye. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 19. §14 Those penyes to be taken and have course oonlye for halpens. 1579 Nottingham Rec. IV. 193 A quart of ale or bere for a penne and a pynte for a hapeney. 1597 Bacon Ess. Ep. Ded., They will bee like the late new halfe-pence, which though the Siluer were good, yet the peeces were small. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 181 To the Philosopher, three halfpence. 1691 Hartcliffe Virtues 229 Their As, which is but half-penny-Farthing in our Money, with them weigh'd a Pound. 1699 Bentley Phal. 440 The Species call'd Nine-pences and Four pence half-penies are gone. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xiii. viii, There are thousands who would not have contributed a single halfpenny. 1849 Lytton Caxtons 38 He was only unsuccessful in turning my halfpennies into halfcrowns. 1850 W. Irving Goldsmith 79 Adrift upon the town, with but a few half-pence in his pocket. 1969 Guardian 30 July 16/1 The halfpenny ceases to be legal tender on Friday [i.e. 1 August]. 1975 Daily Tel. 5 May 1/4 Bread prices go up today.., sending the standard loaf up by a halfpenny to 16p. |
† b. halfpenny of gold: name given to the half-ryal, a piece worth (in reign of Edward IV) 5s. Obs.
| 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 15, I beqwethe to the Prior a good purs and a halpenye of gold ther in. |
c. halfpenny under the hat, a low game of chance.
| 1851 Thackeray Eng. Hum. v. (1863) 240 Tom lies on a tomb-stone outside playing at halfpenny-under-the-hat with street blackguards. |
d. A halfpenny stamp.
| 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. 1908 Daily Chron. 20 Feb. 4/7 Many people..think it necessary to fortify themselves with penny stamps. Others cram on a couple of half⁓pennies. |
2. Phrases. † to have one's heart, or hand, on one's halfpenny, to have a particular object in view (obs.). So † to have one's hand on another halfpenny. more kicks than halfpence: see kick n. not a halfpenny the worse; a bad halfpenny. (Cf. penny.)
| a 1577 Gascoigne Hearbes, etc. Wks. (1587) 255 But his mystresse having hyr hand on another halfpeny gan thus say unto him. 1589 Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 49 Twere necessarie he tolde us how his heart came thus on his halfepence. 1590 ― Never too late Wks. (Rtldg.) Introd. 10 Francesco that was tied by the eies, and had his hart on his halfpeny, could not deny her. 16.. Notes on Du Bartas, To Rdr. ii. (N.), But the blinde man, having his hand on another halfe-penny, said, What is that you say, sir? 1603 S. Harsnet Declar. Egreg. Popish Impostures 17 Syluester, Bonifacius, and some other Popes, haue beene errand deuill-coniurers, and yet theyr holinesse not an halfepeny the worse. 1819 J. H. Vaux Mem. II. 154 When a man has been upon any errand, or attempting any object which has proved unsuccessful or impracticable, he will say on his return, It's a bad halfpenny; meaning he has returned as he went. 1850 Hawthorne Scarlet Let. 22 It was not the first time, nor the second, that I had gone away—as it seemed, permanently—but yet returned, like the bad halfpenny. 1895 Brewer's Dict. Phr. & Fable (new ed.) 571/2 I am come back again, like a bad ha'penny. A facetious way of saying, ‘More free than welcome’. As a bad ha'penny is returned to its owner, so have I returned to you, and you cannot get rid of me. |
† 3. a. A small fragment, bit, or piece. Obs.
| 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 147 O she tore the letter into a thousand halfpence. |
b. A form of ear-mark on cattle and horses. U.S.
Cf. halfpenny slit, ‘an ear-mark given to pigs or sheep’ (E.D.D.).
| 1658 Rec. East Hampton, N.Y. (1887) I. 151 John Woodroff marked a horse colt with a hapenny under the left eare. 1666 Early Rec. Portsmouth, R.I. (1901) 266 A halfpeny from the route [of the ear]. 1667 Ibid. 269 A halfpeney out of the r[ight ear]. 1702 Town Rec. Topsfield, Mass. (1917) I. 124 A..horse..[with] a half penny cut out of the right 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. |
4. attrib. and Comb. a. That costs, or involves the outlay of, a halfpenny, as halfpenny ballad, halfpenny dole, halfpenny loaf, halfpenny sheet; of the shape or size of a halfpenny, as halfpenny mark. See also next.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 293 Ne non halfpeny Ale In none wyse drynke. 1419 E.E. Wills (1882) 40 Smale Halpeney Loves. a 1553 Udall Royster D. iii. iii. (Arb.) 45, I will crie halfepenie doale for your worshyp. 1709 Brit. Apollo II. No. 70. 3/1, I sent it by the Halfpenny-Post. 1710 Ibid. No. 100. 2/2 The Half-Penny Carriage. 1729 E. Smith Compleat Housewife (ed. 3) 86 Slice a half⁓penny Loaf. 1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery xv. 140 Your Oven must be as hot as for Halfpenny Bread. 1762 Boswell London Jrnl. 21 Dec. (1950) 99 A halfpenny roll,..which I had bought at a baker's. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. v, A choice collection of halfpenny ballads. 1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman II. 54 Here comes the New Man, demoralizing himself with a halfpenny paper as usual. 1908 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 62/1 It..marks as great advance upon the latter as does the incandescent gas⁓burner upon the halfpenny dip. 1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay iii. iv. 423, I lost three pounds..at ha'penny nap and euchre. 1914 ‘Saki’ Beasts & Super-Beasts 116 The office of one of the halfpenny dailies. a 1930 D. H. Lawrence Last Poems (1932) 169 Oh carcase with a board⁓school mind and a ha'penny newspaper intelligence. |
b. Expressing depreciation: To be had for a halfpenny; worth no more than a halfpenny; of contemptible value; trumpery. Also three-halfpenny, twopenny-halfpenny.
| 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 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. 1721 Strype Eccl. Mem. II. xv. 370 Patrons..gave some three half-penny priest a curate's wages. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 2 Obliged to go on all her halfpenny Errands. 1759 Sterne Tr. Shandy I. i, Whether right or wrong, 'tis not a halfpenny matter. 1908 H. L. Mencken Philos. Nietzsche 284 Reich..has attained the ha'penny celebrity he seems to crave in much the same manner. 1911 G. B. Shaw Getting Married 221 To lie down and let..every halfpenny journalist walk over us. |