philopena
/ˌfɪləˈpiːnə/
philopena noun: a game in which a person, on finding a double-kernelled almond or nut, may offer the second kernel to another person and demand a playful forfeit from that person to be paid on their next meeting. The forfeit may simply be to exchange the greeting "Good-day, Philopena" or it may be more elaborate. Philopenas were often played as a form of flirtation.
Noun
philopena (countable and uncountable, plural philopenas)
- A game in which a person, on finding a double-kernelled almond or nut, may offer the second kernel to another person and demand a playful forfeit from that person to be paid on their next meeting. The forfeit may simply be to exchange the greeting "Good-day, Philopena" or it may be more elaborate. Philopenas were often played as a form of flirtation.
- The occasion on which a philopena is forfeited; the forfeit paid.
- A nut or almond with a double kernel, as used to set a philopena.
Forms of philopena
| plural | philopenas |
|---|---|
| alternative form | fillipeen |
| alternative form | philippine |
| alternative form | philippina |
| alternative form | philopaene |
| alternative form | philopoena |
Origin of philopena
The origin of philopena is unclear. Despite its appearance, it is not formed from classical roots. The traditional game seems to have originated in Germany, and to have included a formulaic greeting, guten Morgen Vielliebchen (“Good morning, sweetheart”), with Vielliebchen being accepted into French as a proper name, and the game's tag becoming Bonjour Philippine. A different account suggests that the word began as the French Valentin(e), with the nut exchanged considered as a St. Valentine's Day gift; Valentine became Philipine and was accepted in this form into Mosel Franconian dialects of German (Luxemburger Wörterbuch (1950) I.370, Philippchen). However, the OED disputes this, arguing that Valentine in French may mean “sweetheart”, but does not mean “gift” or “lover's gift”, and wondering in addition what pressure would confuse the familiar French given names Valentin(e) and Philip(e)(pine). The OED also lists forms in Dutch (filippien), Danish (filippine), and Swedish (filipin) denoting either the game or an almond or nut with a double kernel. These citations date from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, and the meaning referring to the game is usually...
Questions about philopena
- What does philopena mean?
- Philopena means a game in which a person, on finding a double-kernelled almond or nut, may offer the second kernel to another person and demand a playful forfeit from that person to be paid on their next meeting. The forfeit may simply be to exchange the greeting "Good-day, Philopena" or it may be more elaborate. Philopenas were often played as a form of flirtation.
- What part of speech is philopena?
- Philopena is a noun.
- How do you pronounce philopena?
- Philopena is pronounced /ˌfɪləˈpiːnə/.
- What is the plural of philopena?
- The plural of philopena is philopenas.
Words near philopena in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: philopena (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “philopena.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/philopena. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.