Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

penny farthing

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English

Syllables: pen-ny -far-thing
IPA

25

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

4

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A type of bicycle popular in the 19th century, with the front wheel far larger than the rear one.

Etymology

A reference to the relative sizes of the two wheels resembling that of the old British coins of the same name. Retronym for ordinary bicycle, coined after the invention of the safety bicycle that has since become the standard type of bicycle.

Inflected Forms

penny farthings (plural)

Synonyms

ordinary

Rhymes With

farthing

Questions

What does penny farthing mean?: A type of bicycle popular in the 19th century, with the front wheel far larger than the rear one.
Where does penny farthing come from?: A reference to the relative sizes of the two wheels resembling that of the old British coins of the same name. Retronym for ordinary bicycle, coined after the invention of the safety bicycle that has since become the standard type of bicycle.

How to pronounce penny farthing

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