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. But, to avoid the fraud of unequal cuttings, that king afterwards coined halfpence and farthings in distinct round pieces.