guinea

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a former British gold coin worth twenty-one shillings

   The portrait sold for fifty guineas.

2. 2
   noun

   a guinea fowl, or a bird related to it

   The farm kept chickens and a few guineas.

3. 3
   name

   a country and coastal region in West Africa

   Guinea lies on the Atlantic coast of West Africa.

From Guinea, the early modern European name for part of West Africa. The coin was originally made from gold associated with the region; the bird name also refers to its African origin.

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