spear penny

See also: spear-penny

English

Alternative forms

spear-penny

Etymology

From spear + penny, a calque translation of the Welsh ceiniog baladr, from ceiniog (“penny”) + paladr (“shaft"; "spear”).

Noun

spear penny

1. (historical, law) A fine under medieval Welsh law levied on related male landowners when the immediate kin of a murderer proved incapable of paying galanas