the quarter or fourth part of anything, particularly the as, or pound.

English money, the fourth part of a penny. Before the reign of Edward I. the smallest coin was a sterling, or penny, marked with a cross; by the guidance of which a penny might be cut into halves for a halfpenny, or into quarters or four parts for farthings; till, to avoid the fraud of unequal cuttings, that king coined halfpence and farthings in distinct round pieces.