noun pl. pennies -·nies

1. in the United Kingdom and certain other countries,
   1. a monetary unit equal to of a pound
      in full new penny: abbrev. p
   2. before 1971, a monetary unit equal to of a shilling: abbrev. d
   3. a coin worth one penny
2. ☆ a U.S. or Canadian cent
3. any of several other low-value coins, as a denarius
4. a sum of money: now chiefly in the following phrases

Etymology: ME peny < OE penig, pening, akin to Ger pfennig: < ? early WGmc borrowing < L pannus, cloth: see pawn