- eightpenny nail
- noun Etymology: from its original price per hundred Date: 15th century a nail typically 2 1/2 inches (6.35 centimeters) long
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
eightpenny nail
Look at other dictionaries:
eightpenny nail — noun a nail 2.5 inches long • Hypernyms: ↑nail … Useful english dictionary
nail — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. fingernail, toenail, ungula; talon, claw; tack, brad, spoke; hobnail, clout; pin, peg. v. t. pin, fix; informal, capture, catch. See junction, restraint. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. brad, pin, peg, hob,… … English dictionary for students
eightpenny — adjective used of nail size; 2 1/2 in or 6.4 cm long • Similar to: ↑sized * * * /ayt pen ee/, adj. 1. noting a nail 21/2 in. (64 mm) long. 2. costing or amounting to the sum of eight pennies. Symbol: 8d [1490 1500; EIGHT + PENNY] * * * e … Useful english dictionary
eightpenny — /ayt pen ee/, adj. 1. noting a nail 21/2 in. (64 mm) long. 2. costing or amounting to the sum of eight pennies. Symbol: 8d [1490 1500; EIGHT + PENNY] * * * … Universalium
eightpenny — eight•pen•ny [[t]ˈeɪtˌpɛn i[/t]] adj. bui noting a nail 2½ in. (64 mm) long • Etymology: 1490–1500 … From formal English to slang
-penny — adjective combining form Etymology: penny; perhaps from the original price per hundred being a (designated) nail size < an eightpenny nail > … New Collegiate Dictionary
eight|pen|ny — «AYT PEHN ee», noun, plural nies, adjective. –n. eight British pennies. –adj. worth eight pence; costing eight pence: »An eightpenny nail is 2½ inches long, and it is so called because originally the nails cost eight pennies per hundred … Useful english dictionary
-penny — ( d) an ending added to a number to indicate the size of a nail, as in sixpenny (6d) nail or tenpenny nail. It s not clear exactly how this terminology began, although the usual guess is that tenpenny nails originally cost ten pence per… … Dictionary of units of measurement
-penny — bui a combining form for adjectives denoting nail sizes: sixpenny; eightpenny. Abbr.: d … From formal English to slang
