Pence
/pɛns/noun
A plural form of penny, especially used for British coinage and prices.
Did you know?Pence comes from the same ancient Germanic money-word family as penny and pound, tracing back to a Proto-Germanic term for a coined payment unit rather than a simple modern decimal amount.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhendh-
“to bind, fasten”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*panninga-
“a coined payment or money unit”
Old English
English
pening
“a penny, a small coin”
Middle English
English
pens
“pennies; small coin payments”
Modern English
English
pence
“the plural form used for pennies and small monetary amounts”