pen·ny / ˈpenē/ • n. 1. a one-cent coin equal to one hundredth of a dollar. ∎  (pl. for separate coins pen·nies, for a sum of money pence / pens/ ) (abbr.: p.) a British bronze coin and monetary unit equal to one hundredth of a pound. ∎  (abbr.: d.) a former British coin and monetary unit equal to one twelfth of a shilling and one 240th of a pound. ∎  (pennies) a small sum of money: in the current economic situation any chance to save a few pennies is welcome. ∎  (in biblical use) a denarius.2. (a penny) used for emphasis to denote no money at all: we didn't get paid a penny.PHRASES: pinch (or count or watch) (one's) pennies be careful about how much one spends: he is pinching pennies to save for a movie she's been watching her pennies.in for a penny, in for a pound used to express someone's intention to complete an enterprise once it has been undertaken, however much time, effort, or money this entails.pennies from heaven unexpected benefits, esp. financial ones.a penny for your thoughts used to ask someone what they are thinking about.a pretty penny a considerable amount of money: old Sid charged a pretty penny for his services.spend a pennysee spend.

penny a British bronze coin and monetary unit equal (since decimalization in 1971) to one hundredth of a pound; formerly, to one twelfth of a shilling.

The penny has its origins in the Roman denarius. The English silver penny first appeared in the late 8th century and was the only coin in circulation for several centuries. The penny was minted in copper from 1797 and in bronze from 1860; coining of silver pennies ceased with the reign of Charles II, apart from a small regular issue as Maundy money.

Recorded from Old English and of Germanic origin, the word may be related to pawn ‘deposit an object for money’ and (with reference to its shape) pan ‘a metal container for cooking’.
in for a penny, in for a pound if one is to be involved at all, it may as well be fully; proverbial saying, late 17th century.not have a penny to bless oneself with be completely impoverished; alluding to the cross on an old silver penny or to the practice of crossing a person's palm with silver for luck.
penny black the world's first adhesive postage stamp, issued in Britain in 1840. It was printed in black with an effigy of Queen Victoria, and had a value of one penny.
penny dreadful a cheap, sensational comic or storybook, so named because the original cost (in the 19th century) was one penny.
the penny drops understanding dawns (referring to the mechanism of a penny-in-the-slot machine).
penny-farthing an early type of bicycle, made in Britain, with a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel, current from the early 1870s to the mid 1890s, and often known as the ordinary.
a penny saved is a penny earned proverbial saying, mid 17th century, used as an exhortation to thrift.
penny wise and pound foolish proverbial saying, early 17th century, meaning that too much concern with saving small sums may result in larger loss if necessary expenditure on maintenance and safety has been withheld.
spend a penny urinate (used euphemistically); with reference to the coin-operated locks of public toilets, which took a penny of the pre-decimal British coinage.

See also a bad penny always turns up, no penny, no paternoster, pence, pennies, a pretty penny.

penny OE. penig, pænig, earlier pen(n)ing, pending = OS. (Du.) penning, OHG. pfenning (G. pfennig):- WGmc. *panniŋga, *pandiŋga, of uncert. orig. OE. pl. penegas gave ME. peneʒes, whence penies, pen(n)is, contr. pens XIV, later sp. pence (XVI); pennies repr. a new formation.