What is "farthing"

Farthing \Far"thing\, n. [OE. furthing, AS. fe['o]r[eth]ung, fr. fe['o]r[eth]a fourth, fe['o]r, fe['o]wer, four. See Four.]

1. The fourth of a penny; a small copper coin of Great Britain, being a cent in United States currency.

2. A very small quantity or value. [Obs.]

   In her cup was no farthing seen of grease.
   --Chaucer.

3. A division of land. [Obs.]

   Thirty acres make a farthing land; nine farthings a Cornish acre; and four Cornish acres a knight's fee.
   --R. Carew.

Old English feorðing (Old Northumbrian feorðung) "quarter of a penny; a fourth part," a diminutive derivative of feorða "fourth" (from feower "four;" see four) + -ing "fractional part." Cognate with Old Frisian fiardeng, Middle Low German verdink, Old Norse fjorðungr, Old Danish fjerdung "a fourth part of anything."\n

\nIn late Old English also a division of land, probably originally a quarter of a hide. The modern English coin first was minted under Edward I and abolished 1961. The word was used in biblical translations for Latin quadrans "quarter of a denarius."\nI shall geat a fart of a dead man as soone As a farthyng of him. [Heywood, "Proverbs," 1562]

n. (context historical English) Former British unit of currency worth one-quarter of an old penny.

n. a former British bronze coin worth a quarter of a penny

Farthing or farthings may refer to:

The British farthing (¼d) coin, from "fourthing", was a unit of currency of one quarter of a penny, or one nine hundred and sixtieth of a pound sterling. It was minted in bronze, and replaced the earlier copper farthings. It was used during the reign of six monarchs: Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II, ceasing to be legal tender in 1960. It featured two different designs on its reverse during its one hundred years in circulation: from 1860 until 1936, the image of Britannia; and from 1937 onwards, the image of a wren. Like all British coinage, it bore the portrait of the monarch on the obverse.

Before Decimal Day in 1971, there were two hundred and forty pence in one pound sterling. There were four farthings in a penny, twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. Values less than a pound were usually written in terms of shillings and pence, e.g. three shillings and six pence (3/6), pronounced "three and six" or "three and sixpence". Values of less than a shilling were simply written in terms of pence, e.g. 8d, pronounced "eightpence". A price with a farthing in it would be written like this: (19/11¼), pronounced "nineteen and elevenpence farthing".

As of 2014, the purchasing power of a farthing in 1960 (at its demise) ranged between 2p and 7p (in 2014 GB Pound values).

The farthing (d) was the lowest value coin of the pre-decimal Irish pound, worth a quarter of a penny, of a shilling or of a pound. The coin had lost much of its value through inflation long before decimalisation in 1971, and during the 1960s no farthings were produced for general circulation; those minted in 1966 were produced for collectors' sets.

The coins officially measured in diameter and weighed 2.83495 grams. The bronze coin is (was) made up of 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc. It was introduced in 1928 to replace the British farthing and ceased to be legal tender on 1 August 1969. As the Irish pound was pegged to the British pound until 1979, the Irish farthing had the same dimensions and weight as the British version.

The reverse design featuring a woodcock was by English artist Percy Metcalfe. The obverse featured the Irish harp. From 1928 through 1937 the date was split either side of the harp with the name Saorstát Éireann circling around. From 1938 through 1966 the inscription changed to Éire on the left of the harp and the date on the right.

Ireland is one of only four nations (including Britain, South Africa, and Jamaica) to issue farthing coins in the 20th century.

Irish farthings, like all non-current Irish coins, may be redeemed for euros at the Central Bank of Ireland in Dublin. Due to its slight value (€0.00132), several must be redeemed to have any return at all.

Farthing is an alternate history novel written by Jo Walton and published by Tor Books in August 2006. A sequel, Ha'penny, was released in October 2007 by Tor Books. A third novel in the series, Half a Crown, was released in September 2008, also from Tor, and a short story, "Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction", was published on Tor.com in February 2009.

Farthing is a defunct British science fiction magazine. The magazine was based in London. Wendy Bradley was both the publisher and editor of the magazine.

A farthing (derived from the Anglo-Saxon feorthing, a fourthling or fourth part) was a coin of the Kingdom of England worth one quarter of a penny, of a pound sterling. Such coins were first minted in England in silver in the 13th century, and continued to be used until the Kingdom of England was merged into the new Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.

Early farthings were silver, but surviving examples are rare. The first copper farthings were issued during the reign of King James I, who gave a licence for minting them to John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton. Licences were subsequently given out until after the Commonwealth, when the Royal Mint resumed production in 1672. In the late 17th century the English farthing was also minted in tin.

For later farthings, minted in the 18th century and for use in Scotland as well as in England and Wales, and in the 19th and 20th centuries for use in Great Britain and Ireland, see Farthing (British coin).