Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An English silver coin worth four pence, used from the 14th to the 17th century.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An English silver coin, of the value of fourpence, first issued for circulation in the reign of Edward III. Groats were issued by subsequent sovereigns till 1662, when their coinage (except as Maundy money) was discontinued. The groat, under the name of fourpence, was again issued for circulation in 1836, but it has not been coined (except as Maundy money) since 1856.
- n. One of various small continental coins.
- n. Proverbially, a very small sum.
Wiktionary
- n. archaic Any of various old coins of England and Scotland.
- n. An historic English silver coin worth four English pennies, still minted as one of the set of Maundy coins.
- n. hulled grain
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An old English silver coin, equal to four pence.
- n. Any small sum of money.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a former English silver coin worth four pennies
Etymologies
- From Middle English grotes (pl.), from Old English grotan, plural of grot, from Proto-Germanic *grutan. More at grit. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English grot, from Middle Dutch groot, a thick, large coin, translation of Medieval Latin (dēnārius) grossus, thick (denarius). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“-- All this king's coins are very rare, except the groat, which is less rare than the others, some groats having lately been discovered.”
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 569, October 6, 1832
“[9] A groat is a small coin worth four British pennies.”
Letter from Robert Carter to John Pemberton, September 15, 1727
“Dietitian says: A groat is the full oat kernel before it's smashed flat to make oatmeal.”
“(as witness Colonel Towneley, Mr. Dawson, and many more unfortunate gentlemen on Kennington Common), to say nothing of the burning alive of women for petty treason, -- and to kill a husband or coin a groat were alike Treasonable, -- the Scourging of the same wretched creatures in”
“(I am sure that both Sigurd and Hugh are now laughing and wondering just kind of groat clusters I have been smoking.)”
“So did probation/social serve … didnt get a groat for that … on February 4, 2010 at 1: 03 pm Howard”
The Truth Behind The £100 Phonecalls « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG
“In 1377, everyone over the age of 14 and not exempt had to pay a groat (2p) to the Crown.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » More on the Chances Courts Would Strike Down the Individual Mandate
“In 1377, everyone over the age of 14 and not exempt had to pay a groat 2p to the Crown.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » More on the Chances Courts Would Strike Down the Individual Mandate
“To repeat a word so much infests a coil or troll a mete or fender a groat or inner fey a flick or tremble hone east tea where I touched yr shoulder spoke into the bone”
“If she can speak so well of my poor Hal, she must be the best girl living! and she shall have him ... yes, she shall have him, if she's a mind to him; and I don't care if she i'n't worth a groat; she's niece to my old friend; that's better. ”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘groat’.
-
[Open] Correctly-spelled words that l...
Thanks to everyone who added to this list. (I moved it to a new URL, so all the words added on the first day are credited to me—sorry about that.)
(Here’s the original list with a slo...orignal, refect, collum, lightening, manakin, neumatic, mutch, miosis, radicle, tryptic, kyack, apatite and 119 more...
-
IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
-
Stalking Darkness
Words and phrases from Lynn Flewelling's book, Stalking Darkness.
inquest, halyard, catamount, occlude, founder, more, grouse, grapple, water butt, antepenultimate, palimpsest, hob and 196 more...
-
delcj's Words
gavotte, perverse, tchotchkes, schmoop, divisural, triplicostate, albatross, snuggery, virgule, separatrix, solidus, tetrodotoxin and 116 more...
-
kenspeckle's Words
kenspeckle, milquetoast, effluvium, kaboom, maelstrom, ennui, alpenglow, defenestration, schadenfreude, autochthonous, obstreperous, lachrymose and 124 more...
-
Coined
cent, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, farthing, shilling, halfpenny, twopence, threepence, sixpence, groat and 91 more...
-
Words of the Dying Earth
Tales of the Dying Earth is a 2002 anthology volume featuring four novels by Jack Vance: The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga and Rhialto the Marvellous.
Throughou...deodar, deodand, pelgrane, leucomorph, blister-bush, russet, black burdock, gunmetal, spatterlight, carrack, concertina, terce and 280 more...
-
numismatics
Coinage and currency, especially traditional, historical and exotic.
florin, ducat, groat, écu, stiver, drachm, denarius, sestertius, talent, obol, farthing, shilling and 27 more...
-
Bill Bryson's Agreeable Words
These are words Mr. Bryson thinks sound especially nice, or are perfect for what they describe.
granola, globule, scrapie, snooze, chortle, clank, grasp, dribble, bloat, galoshes, pandemonium, transubstantiation and 18 more...
-
ellis peters
clee, lungeous, precentor, chasseours, parfytours, privily, cotte, dortoir, centaury, cleavers, brazier, pricced and 42 more...
-
Leanbean's Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for groat.
kenspeckle I hear that for a groat, you can get a groatsworth of anything. Dec 9, 2006