groat

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: an English or Scottish coin, especially the English silver coin worth four old pence

   The meal once cost a groat, the equivalent of four old pennies.

2. 2
   noun

   a grain kernel with its husk removed, especially an oat kernel; usually used in the plural

   She simmered the oat groats until they were tender but still chewy.

The coin name came through Middle Dutch groot, literally 'large', for a large silver coin. The grain word has a separate Germanic history, from Middle English and Old English forms for a particle or hulled grain, related to grit.

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