Farthing

Pronunciation: /fɑːrðɪŋ/

Definitions of farthing

noun a very small amount of money

Example Sentences

A1 In the past, people used to pay with farthings for small items.

A2 The shopkeeper gave me change in farthings instead of pennies.

B1 The value of a farthing was equivalent to a quarter of a penny.

B2 During the Victorian era, farthings were commonly used in everyday transactions.

C1 Numismatists collect rare farthings as part of their coin collections.

C2 The minting of farthings ceased in the United Kingdom in 1956.

Examples of farthing in a Sentence

formal In the 17th century, a farthing was a common unit of currency in England.

informal I found a farthing in my old coin collection from when I was a kid.

slang I wouldn't give you a farthing for that old junk car.

figurative His opinion on the matter isn't worth a farthing to me.

Grammatical Forms of farthing

• past tense: farthinged
• plural: farthings
• comparative: farther
• superlative: farthest
• present tense: farthings
• future tense: will farthing
• perfect tense: have farthinged
• continuous tense: is farthing
• singular: farthing
• positive degree: farthing
• infinitive: to farthing
• gerund: farthinging
• participle: farthinged

Origin and Evolution of farthing

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'farthing' originated from Old English 'feorðung', which was derived from 'feower' meaning 'four' and '-ung' denoting a fraction or part.

Evolution of the word: Originally used to refer to a quarter of a penny, the term 'farthing' evolved to denote a small British coin worth a quarter of an old penny. It eventually fell out of use as currency in the 20th century.