Paisa

Paisa (also called pice, pesa, poysha, poisha, and baisa) is a small unit of money. The word means money or wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, one paisa is 1/100 of a rupee. In Bangladesh, one poysha is 1/100 of a Bangladeshi taka. One baisa in Oman equals 1/1000 of an Omani rial.

Etymology

The word paisa originates from the Sanskrit word padāṁśa. Padāṁśa means quarter part and unit.[1][2] The pesa was used in colonial Kenya.[3]

Chaulukyas. 9th–10th century. Lot of sixty-eight AR 'Gadhaiya Paise'

History

Chaulukya coins were known as Gadhaiya Paise.[4] In India and Pakistan the paisa or pice was equal to 3 pies or 1/64 of a rupee until the 1950's. When these countries switched to a decimal system, the paisa became 1/100 of a rupee.

Terminology

In languages like Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and Nepali, the word paisa means money. In East Africa, the word pesa for money is still used.[5] An example is Kenya’s M-Pesa, which means "mobile pesa" or "mobile money."

Usage

  • 100 Omani Baisa note (reverse)
    100 Omani Baisa note (reverse)
  • 100 Omani Baisa note (1995)
    100 Omani Baisa note (1995)
  • 50 Bangladeshi Poysha (2001)
    50 Bangladeshi Poysha (2001)
  • 50 Bangladeshi Poysha (2001, reverse)
    50 Bangladeshi Poysha (2001, reverse)

References

  1. ↑ "paisa". Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "pada". spokensanskrit.de (version 4.2). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Myanmar-English Dictionary. Myanmar Language Commission. 1996. ISBN 1-881265-47-1.
  4. ↑ Ray, Himanshu Prabha (2019). Negotiating Cultural Identity: Landscapes in Early Medieval South Asian History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 161–163. ISBN 9781000227932.
  5. ↑ Jeffreys, M. D. W. (1953). "Cowry: Ndoro". NADA: The Southern Rhodesia Native Affairs Department Annual (30). Government of Southern Rhodesia. Retrieved 3 February 2015. ...currency terms pesa, upeni, mali, khete, tickey all derive from Hindu or Arabic currency terms still in use in what was once called the Erythraean Sea
  6. ↑ "State Bank of Pakistan".

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