Slangora

death penny

(historical, usually, in the plural) A coin placed on the eyelid of a deceased person to keep the eye closed.

ˈdɛθ ˌpɛni31 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🇬🇧 British & Irish slang
2 definitions
Community

Definitions

UK
#1·Apr 27, 2026UK

(historical, usually, in the plural) A coin placed on the eyelid of a deceased person to keep the eye closed.

Origin: From . (“memorial plaque”) refers to its superficial resemblance to the one-penny coin (which was much smaller) in circulation in the United Kingdom at the time. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Was this helpful?

Comments

UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK

(UK, World War I, numismatics, informal) The memorial plaque, a circular bronze plaque presented to the next of kin of British Empire personnel killed in World War I.

Was this helpful?

Comments

Used in

UK

Have a better definition?

Add your own interpretation of "death penny".

Add definition

🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang

UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.

See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.

Tags

Other words near "death penny" (D)

Browse all slang words starting with D.

Related terms

People also read

Semantically related