farthing

Imagine a time before decimal currency, when Britain used pounds, shillings, and pence. A farthing was the smallest British coin, worth one-fourth of a penny. It was such a tiny amount that the word is often used to describe something of almost no value. Think of the phrase "not worth a farthing."

These little coins were first made in copper and later in bronze. They were withdrawn in 1960, but the word still turns up in older books or when someone wants to stress how little something is worth. You might say, "He wouldn't give a farthing for her opinion," meaning he does not value it at all.

The farthing was a former British coin worth one-fourth of a penny, a very small amount of money. Its name comes from the Old English word feorðing, meaning "fourth part," because four farthings made one penny. For centuries, it was part of everyday buying and selling in Britain, used for very cheap items and small payments.

Over time, inflation made it less and less useful. By the mid-20th century, the coin had so little buying power that it no longer made much sense to keep it in circulation. It was officially withdrawn in 1960, years before Britain moved to decimal currency in 1971.

Today, "farthing" is rarely used to mean actual money. Instead, it is mostly used in a figurative way to mean something of little or no value. You might hear someone say, "He wouldn't part with a farthing," to suggest that someone is very stingy, or "It's not worth a farthing!" to dismiss something as useless.

The word also appears often in literature and historical writing, where it brings to mind old-fashioned Britain. Writers such as Charles Dickens used it when describing poverty, daily life, and money troubles. So while you will not find one in your pocket today, the word still lives on as a symbol of something very small or hardly worth anything at all.