fourpenny
Americanadjective
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Carpentry.
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noting a nail 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) long.
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noting certain fine nails 1.375 inches (3.5 centimeters) long. 4d
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British. of the amount or value of fourpence.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of fourpenny
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English. See four, penny
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When he was a child-actor in London he used to steal waitresses' fourpenny tips to eke out his meagre lunches.
From Time Magazine Archive
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It's all ready—see—this is one of my shillings, and a sixpence and three pennies of Tom's, and Racey's fourpenny and two of his halfpennies.
From The Boys and I by Molesworth, Mrs.
"I'd be happy to pay for a pint," said Mrs. Demijohn, fingering a fourpenny bit so that he might see it.
From Marion Fay by Trollope, Anthony
Where Lord Eldon stayed in 1766, and whence many another aristocratic traveller set forth, tramps and fourpenny “dossers” found refuge.
From The Bath Road History, Fashion, & Frivolity on an Old Highway by Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)
There are two valuable triangular "Capes," however, namely, the fourpenny red and the penny blue, both of 1861.
From Peeps at Postage Stamps by Johnson, Stanley Currie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.