/ · 1894 Brewer’s · P · Pension
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is something weighed out. Originally money was weighed, hence our pound. When the Gauls were bribed to leave Rome the ransom money was weighed in scales, and then Brennus threw his sword into the weight-pan. (Latin, pendo, to weigh money.)
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
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