guinea1
/ˈɡɪni
/(abbreviation gn.)
noun
1British The sum of £1.05 (21 shillings in pre-decimal currency), now used mainly for determining professional fees and auction prices.There were farthings, pennies, oxfords, crowns, florins, shillings, guineas, and pounds, among other divisions....
- Robert Carrier's Great Dishes of the World, which has sold two million copies since the original lavish version was launched in 1963, selling at the then unbelievable price of four guineas (equivalent to about £65 now).
- Such animals commanded huge prices (1,000 guineas was paid for a Beef Shorthorn bull at a time when a labourer's wage was less than £1 a week) and specimens were exported all over the world.
1.1 historical A former British gold coin that was first minted in 1663 from gold imported from West Africa, with a value that was later fixed at 21 shillings. It was replaced by the sovereign from 1817.My senses were all confused as within my sight was a king's ransom - Spanish gold doubloons and shining silver reals, gold pieces of eight, old English milled gold guineas, crowns, minted silver shillings....
- However, there were also crowns, farthings, guineas and sovereigns, all in varying amounts and none really compatible with any of the others.
- At this time and especially on the sea, two gold guineas would be very hard to find.
Origin
Named after Guinea in West Africa.
Rhymes
Guinea2
/ˈɡɪni/
A country on the west coast of Africa; population 10,058,000 (est. 2009); languages, French (official), Fulani, Susu, Malinke, and others; capital, Conakry.
Part of a feudal Fulani empire from the 16th century, Guinea was colonized by France, becoming part of French West Africa. It became an independent republic in 1958.