luck penny
English
Alternative forms
- luck-penny, luckpenny
Noun
luck penny (plural luck pennies)
- (archaic) A small sum of money given back for luck when paying.
- c. 1827, Thomas Carlyle (translator), originally byJean Paul Friedrich Richter, The Campaner thal, and other writings, Life of Quintus Fixlein:
- I mean, had he not luckily exposed his legacy to jeopardy, having offered it as bounty-money and luckpenny to the patron
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- A coin carried or given for luck.
- 1812, Maria Edgeworth, The Absentee, Chapter X:
- 'A kind harvest to you, John Dolan,' cried the postillion, 'and success to ye, Winny, with the quality. There's a luck-penny for the child to begin with,' added he, throwing the child a penny.
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References
- penny in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
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