جنيه

19th century, from Egyptian Arabic جنيه (ginēh), classicized after the diminutive measure فُعَيْل (fuʕayl). The Egyptian word is from English guinea; historically, a guinea was worth one pound and one shilling. In view of the (former) importance of French learning in Egypt, the final stress may follow French guinée, itself from the English

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒu.najh/
• (Egypt) IPA^(key): /ɡi.neːh/

• Audio:

  (file)

جُنَيْه • (junayh) m (plural جُنَيْهَات (junayhāt))

1. pound (unit of currency)
   • 1956, w:Naguib Mahfouz, chapter 36, in بين القصرين:

     فَتًى فِي الْخَامِسَةِ وَالْعِشْرِينَ، ذُو دَخْلٍ شَهْرِيٍّ لَا يَقِلُّ عَنْ الثَّلَاثِينَ جُنَيْهًا

     fatan fī l-ḵāmisati wālʕišrīna, ḏū daḵlin šahriyyin lā yaqillu ʕan aṯ-ṯalāṯīna junayhan

     A young man of twenty-five years, with a monthly income of not less than thirty pounds.

• Most currencies called pound in English are known as جنيه in Arabic, including the pound sterling and the Egyptian pound; however, the Lebanese pound and Syrian pound are called لِيرَة (līra, “lira”) in Arabic.

From English guinea; historically, a guinea was worth one pound and one shilling. In view of the (former) importance of French learning in Egypt, the final stress may follow French guinée, itself from the English.

• IPA^(key): /ɡiˈneːh/

جنيه • (ginēh) m (plural جنيهات (ginehāt))

1. pound (unit of currency)
   • 1994, w:Yusuf al-Qa'id, chapter 2, in لبن العصفور‎:

     كيلوا اللحمة بقشي بعشرة جنيه حتة واحدة.

     A kilo of meat costs ten pounds per piece.

• Hinds, Martin, Badawi, El-Said (1986) “جنيه”, in A Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic‎, Beirut: Librairie du Liban, page 177