guinea
Meanings
Plural: guineas
Noun
- a former British gold coin worth 21 shillings
- (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Italian descent
- a republic in western Africa on the Atlantic; formerly a French colony; achieved independence from France in 1958
- a west African bird having dark plumage mottled with white; native to Africa but raised for food in many parts of the world
- 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.
- A person of Italian descent.
Origin / 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.
Synonyms
dago, Eyetie, French Guinea, ginzo, goombah, greaseball, guido, guinea fowl, Numida meleagris, Republic of Guinea, wog, wop
Scrabble Score: 7
guinea is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordguinea is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
guinea is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary