guinea

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A gold coin issued in England from 1663 to 1813 and worth one pound and one shilling.
2. n. The sum of one pound and one shilling.
3. n. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a person of Italian birth or descent.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. An English gold coin, of the value of 21 shillings, first issued by Charles II. in 1663, and by his successors till 1813, since which year it has not been coined. Five-guinea pieces, two-guinea pieces, half- and quarter-guinea pieces have also been current gold coins in England.
2. n. A money of account, of the value of 21 shillings, still often used in English reckonings.
3. n. A guinea-fowl.
4. n. An Italian.

Wiktionary

1. n. US, slang, pejorative A person of Italian descent.
2. n. UK A gold coin originally worth twenty shillings and originally made from gold imported from Africa; later (from 1717 until the adoption of decimal currency) standardised at a value of twenty-one shillings.
3. n. A ground-foraging bird of Africa, of the family Numididea. Domesticated strains include Pearl, White, Buff, Blue, Purple and Lavender. Also called guinea fowl.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A district on the west coast of Africa (formerly noted for its export of gold and slaves) after which the Guinea fowl, Guinea grass, Guinea peach, etc., are named.
2. n. A gold coin of England current for twenty-one shillings sterling, or about five dollars, but not coined since the issue of sovereigns in 1817.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Italian descent
2. n. a republic in western Africa on the Atlantic; formerly a French colony; achieved independence from France in 1958
3. n. a west African bird having dark plumage mottled with white; native to Africa but raised for food in many parts of the world
4. n. a former British gold coin worth 21 shillings