*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of pence

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πᾰτᾰ́νη (pătắnē)bor. Latin patina Latin panna? Latin pannus? Proto-Indo-European *-n̥kʷo-der.? Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Germanic *-īnaz Proto

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πᾰτᾰ́νη (pătắnē)bor. Latin patina Latin panna? Latin pannus? Proto-Indo-European *-n̥kʷo-der.? Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Germanic *-īnaz Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz ? Proto-Germanic *-ingaz Proto-Germanic *panningaz Proto-West Germanic *panning Old English peniġ Middle English peniesder. English pence 14th century contraction of penies (“pennies”), collective plural of penny.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "enm:peny<alt:penies>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nPre-Greekder.?\nAncient Greek πᾰτᾰ́νη (pătắnē)bor.\nLatin patina\nLatin panna?\nLatin pannus?\nProto-Indo-European *-n̥kʷo-der.?\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Indo-European *-iHnos\nProto-Germanic *-īnaz\nProto-Indo-European *-kos\nProto-Germanic *-gaz\n?\nProto-Germanic *-ingaz\nProto-Germanic *panningaz\nProto-West Germanic *panning\nOld English peniġ\nMiddle English peniesder.\nEnglish pence\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"penies\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"peniġ\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"lang_name\" : \"Pre-Greek\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"qsb-grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"πᾰτᾰ́νη\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"patina\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"panna\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"pannus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-n̥kʷo-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-nós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-iHnos\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-īnaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-kos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-gaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*-ingaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*panningaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*panning\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"penning\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"peny\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"pence\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"pence\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "enm:peny<alt:penies>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nPre-Greekder.?\nAncient Greek πᾰτᾰ́νη (pătắnē)bor.\nLatin patina\nLatin panna?\nLatin pannus?\nProto-Indo-European *-n̥kʷo-der.?\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Indo-European *-iHnos\nProto-Germanic *-īnaz\nProto-Indo-European *-kos\nProto-Germanic *-gaz\n?\nProto-Germanic *-ingaz\nProto-Germanic *panningaz\nProto-West Germanic *panning\nOld English peniġ\nMiddle English peniesder.\nEnglish pence"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "πᾰτᾰ́νη",
      "πατάνη#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "patina",
      "patina#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "panna",
      "panna#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "pannus",
      "pannus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*-n̥kʷo-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-n̥kʷo-"
    ],
    [
      "*-nós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-nós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*-iHnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-iHnos"
    ],
    [
      "*-īnaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-īnaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-kos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-kos#Proto-Indo-European:_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*-gaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-gaz"
    ],
    [
      "*-ingaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ingaz"
    ],
    [
      "*panningaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/panningaz"
    ],
    [
      "*panning",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/panning"
    ],
    [
      "peniġ",
      "penning#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "penies",
      "peny#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "penies",
      "penies#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "penny",
      "penny#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "lang_code": "ar",
      "word": "بِنْس",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "bins"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "word": "penco",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "word": "पेन्स",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed",
        "pl"
      ],
      "roman": "pens"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "word": "便士",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "biànshì"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Marathi",
      "lang_code": "mr",
      "word": "पेन्स",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed",
        "pl"
      ],
      "roman": "pensa"
    },
    {
      "lang_code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "descendants": [
        {
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "lang_code": "nb",
          "word": "pence",
          "raw_tags": [
            "pl"
          ]
        },
        {
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "lang_code": "nn",
          "word": "pence",
          "raw_tags": [
            "pl"
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "word": "pens",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "word": "пенс",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "pens"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Uyghur",
      "lang_code": "ug",
      "word": "پەنس",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "pens"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "plural of penny (the subunit of the pound sterling or Irish pound)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "plural"
      ],
      "recordId": "1414c77a5bb72b24de158298a8c2fc42be96cf80dfd0875fb1e822a017fd33c4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b5d3f934bdb93af22c5defbe6081567a1e2a84b0470b0dd37efb41401ca3054a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 180632
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for pence →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cGVuY2U