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Glite Dictionary
fourpenny

fourpenny

9.9
A nail about one and a half inches long
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɔːpəni/
  • Specialized
translation icon : de cuatro peniques
  • The carpenter used fourpenny nails to secure the wooden beams together.

Examples

  • We bought a pack of fourpenny nails for our home renovation project.

  • This is a fourpenny route, 'cause we go round by the station.

    A Kind of Loving (1962)

  • The saucer was heavily weathered, skinned with what had been some sort of thin fiberglass or particle board, studded together with fourpenny nails.

    Blog text (2)

  • For this construction, make sure to choose fourpenny nails, as they are the right size.

Compounds

fourpenny nail
  • Specialized
8.3

A small metal pin about one and a half inches long that holds pieces of wood together

How Long

tenpenny
  • Specialized
9.1
eightpenny
  • Specialized
9.9
fourpenny
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

fourpenny positive

Morphology

fourpenny = four + penny (opaque) = four + penny

Although composed of 'four' + 'penny', the term denotes a conventionalized nail size (a length), not a literal price, so learners cannot deduce the length from the components.

Etymology

Fourpenny comes from old shop talk where nail sizes were named by their price: that size cost 'four pence' for a hundred nails, so it was called fourpenny. Penny is a small coin you know, and because the price showed the size, a fourpenny nail today means the short 1 1/2 inch nail.