pfennig

American  

[fen-ig, pfen-ikh] / ˈfɛn ɪg, ˈpfɛn ɪx /

noun

plural

pfennigs, pfennige

1. a copper-coated iron coin and monetary unit of Germany until the euro was adopted, one 100th of a Deutsche mark.

2. (formerly) a minor coin and monetary unit of East Germany, one 100th of an ostmark.

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pfennig British  

/ ˈfɛnɪɡ, ˈpfɛnɪç /

noun

1. a former German monetary unit worth one hundredth of a Deutschmark

2. (formerly) a monetary unit worth one hundredth of an East German ostmark

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Etymology

Origin of pfennig

First recorded in 1540–50; from German: penny

Example Sentences

Jürgen Klopp should therefore decide to make do, and spend every precious pfennig of his summer pot on a top-drawer replacement for the woefully erratic Dejan Lovren instead.

From The Guardian • Apr. 28, 2017

Maybe the pfennig will drop and he’ll resort to putting his German center half up front in the waning minutes.

From New York Times • May 14, 2011

But to Albrecht, competing for glory with monarchs from Madrid to Moscow, it was worth every pfennig.

From Time Magazine Archive

As with all his other investments, every pfennig he paid was Grundig's own.

From Time Magazine Archive

Many of them are secondhand, all the classics for example, one volume in blue cloth boards cost one mark twenty pfennig.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque