guinea

== English == === Etymology === From Guinea, the early modern name for West Africa, the coins originally being made of gold from the region, mostly from the 'Gold Coast' (modern Ghana) and used for African trade, and the guinea fowl being found there. Its use as an ethnic slur against Italians may be due to their darker complexion compared to people of Anglo-American descent. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɡɪni/ Rhymes: -ɪni === Noun === guinea (plural guineas) (British, historical) A gold coin originally worth twenty shillings; later (from 1717 until the adoption of decimal currency) standardised at a value of twenty-one shillings. Synonym of guinea fowl. (US, slang, derogatory, ethnic slur) A person of Italian descent. ==== Synonyms ==== (person of Italian descent): dago, Eyetie, goombah, greaseball, guido, wog, wop ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Arabic: جُنَيْه (junayh) → Egyptian Arabic: جنيه (ginēh) → Irish: gine → Scottish Gaelic: gini → Spanish: guinea → Welsh: gini ==== Translations ==== === References === “guinea”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. == Finnish == === Etymology === From English guinea. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɡineɑ/, [ˈɡine̞ɑ̝] Rhymes: -ineɑ === Noun === guinea guinea (British gold coin) ==== Declension ==== == Spanish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɡiˈnea/ [ɡiˈne.a] Rhymes: -ea Syllabification: gui‧ne‧a === Etymology 1 === Borrowed from English guinea. ==== Noun ==== guinea f (plural guineas) guinea (British gold coin) === Etymology 2 === See guineo. ==== Noun ==== guinea f (plural guineas) female equivalent of guineo ==== Adjective ==== guinea feminine singular of guineo === Further reading === “guinea”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025