guinea Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a former British gold coin worth 21 shillings
  2. noun (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Italian descent
    dago; greaseball; wop; ginzo.
  3. noun a republic in western Africa on the Atlantic; formerly a French colony; achieved independence from France in 1958
    Republic of Guinea; French Guinea.
  4. noun a west African bird having dark plumage mottled with white; native to Africa but raised for food in many parts of the world
    guinea fowl; Numida meleagris.

WordNet

Guin"ea noun
Definitions
  1. A district on the west coast of Africa (formerly noted for its export of gold and slaves) after which the Guinea fowl, Guinea grass, Guinea peach, etc., are named.
  2. A gold coin of England current for twenty-one shillings sterling, or about five dollars, but not coined since the issue of sovereigns in 1817.
    The guinea, so called from the Guinea gold out of which it was first struck, was proclaimed in 1663, and to go for twenty shillings; but it never went for less than twenty-one shillings. Pinkerton.

Webster 1913