Farʹthing

A fourth part. Penny pieces used to be divided into four parts, thus, ㊉. One of these quarters was a feor-thung or farthing, and two a halfpenny. (Anglo-Saxon, feor-thung.)

I donʹt care for it a brass farthing. James II. debased all the coinage, and issued, amongst other worthless coins, brass pence, halfpence, and farthings.

⁂ The feorthung was the fourth part of other coins. Thus, we read in the Grayfriar’s Chronicle:—

“This yere the kynge made a newe quyne, as the nobylle, half-nobylle, and ferdyng-nobylle.”

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.