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. The pesa was used in colonial Kenya.

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

History

Chaulukya coins were known as Gadhaiya Paise. 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. An example is Kenya’s M-Pesa, which means "mobile pesa" or "mobile money."

Usage

References

  1. ↑ "paisa". Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "pada". spokensanskrit.de (version 4.2). Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. 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". Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-10-12.