farthing

See also: Farthing

Englisch

Etymology

From Middle English ferthing, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English feorðing (“a quarter”), from feorða (“fourth”), probably influenced by Old Norse fiórðungr. Equivalent to fourth + -ing.

Pronunciation

• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑː(ɹ).ðɪŋ/
• (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)ðɪŋ

Nomen

farthing (plural farthings)

1. (historical) Former British unit of currency worth one-quarter of an old penny; or a coin representing this.
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Chapter V:

     "Nay, Heaven forbid, indeed," quoth Robin, "that I should take from such as thee, jolly fellow! Not so much as one farthing would I take from thee, for I love a fair Saxon face like thine right well—more especially when it cometh from Locksley Town, and most especially when the man that owneth it is to marry a bonny lass on Thursday next. But come, tell me for what price thou wilt sell me all of thy meat and thy horse and cart."

   • 1895, Parliament of Western Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly VIII, page 163:

     We must keep them to the fact that the duty is one and three quarter farthings, or nearly a half-penny in the pound and no more, and any one who tries to work it out any other way is not acting fairly in the matter.

   • Template:RQ:Frgsn Zlnstn

     I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer.

2. (figurative) A very small quantity or value; the least possible amount.

   Synonyms: jot, shred, whit

   • M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated by Mahadev Desai, Part I, chapter xvi^[1]:

     That period of infatuation was not unrelieved by a certain amount of self-introspection on my part. I kept account of every farthing I spent, and my expenses were carefully calculated. Every little item such as omnibus fares or postage or a couple of coppers spent on newspapers, would be entered, and the balance struck every evening before going to bed. That habit has stayed with me ever since, and I know that as a result, though I have had to handle public funds amounting to lakhs, I have succeeded in exercising strict economy in their disbursement, and instead of outstanding debts have had invariably a surplus balance in respect of all the movements I have led.

Derived terms

• brass farthing
• half farthing
• not worth a brass farthing

• penny-farthing
• quarter farthing

• third farthing
• three farthings
• unofficial farthing

Translations

former British unit of currency worth one-quarter of an old penny

• Bulgarian: фартинг m (farting)
• Esperanto: duonpenco
• French: farthing (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: φαρδίνι n (fardíni)
• Maori: pārenga, pātene
• Russian: фа́ртинг (ru) m (fárting)

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Middle English

Nomen

farthing

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Alternative form of ferthing