What does guinea mean?
Guinea most commonly refers to a former British gold coin and the monetary unit it represented, both worth twenty-one shillings. These coins circulated from the seventeenth through the early nineteenth centuries and became closely associated with British overseas trade, especially trade involving West Africa. The name came from the country and region now known as Guinea, whose gold was traded through European merchants. In older usage, guinea could also mean a person from Guinea, although that sense is now dated and potentially offensive. The word survives in modern English chiefly through the established compounds guinea fowl and guinea pig, as well as references to historical coinage. For readers encountering the word in older literature, a guinea is best understood not as a present-day currency unit but as a substantial gold coin of twenty-one shillings.
nounA former British gold coin worth twenty-one shillings, and the monetary unit it represented. The word also has older senses referring to a person from Guinea and, informally, to a guinea fowl.
- A former British gold coin worth twenty-one shillings.
- The former British monetary unit represented by that coin.
- In dated usage, a person from Guinea or an African person.
- Informally, a guinea fowl.
"The merchant received several gold guineas in payment for the shipment."
"The clerk counted out the guineas and placed them in a small leather bag."
"The period novel mentions a guinea as the sum that a traveler must deposit before boarding the ship."
The standard plural of the historical British coin and monetary unit.
"The archive records payments of several guineas."
A guinea was once a gleaming gold coin worth twenty-one shillings, named after the African region that supplied so much of the gold.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does guinea come from?
English borrowed the name Guinea from Portuguese Guiné, a form ultimately connected with the historical name for the West African region; the precise ultimate source of that Portuguese form is uncertain. European usage of the name developed in connection with West African trade, particularly the gold trade. English subsequently applied Guinea to the gold coins and monetary unit associated with that commerce.
Related word forms
How guinea is actually used
The standalone monetary sense is historical in modern English. The sense meaning a person from Guinea is dated and may be offensive in contemporary use. As a shortened form of guinea fowl, guinea is informal and much less common than the full compound.
Easily confused with guinea
Lowercase guinea usually means a historical British coin or unit of money, while capitalized Guinea names the West African country.