groat
/ɡrəʊt
/noun
1 historical Any of various medieval European coins, in particular an English silver coin worth four old pence, issued between 1351 and 1662.A halfpenny was of course half a penny; a groat was worth fourpence; and a sixpence (popularly called a ‘tester’) was worth six pennies, or 6 d....
- I bet Edward III's subjects thought that the silver groat was a fine coin too but I haven't seen many of those around recently.
- With its medieval history, Lacock and its Abbey may have leased in lugs long before the demise of the groat in the 17th century, although the groat was deemed to be worth four pennies.
1.1 [in singular, with negative] archaic A small amount: I do not care a groat
Origin
From Middle Dutch groot or Middle Low German grōte 'great, thick', hence 'thick penny'; compare with groschen.