Talk:guinea

About the UK description of the coin, it says it was intended for trade with Africa. What does a citation from 1699 England mean wherein a wager is made betting one guinea (The Hertford Letter: Containing Several Brief Observations on a late printed trial concerning the murder of Mrs Sarah Stout 1699, pp. 26–7)? The guinea surely was not only meant for trade with Africa? Instead, its name derived simply from the African region where the gold for the coins came from. 94.211.48.74 13:33, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

You're right, according to the Wikipedia article and at least one dictionary I have easy access to. I've changed the etymology accordingly. Chuck Entz (talk) 14:08, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

I'm late to the conversation, but I've added that back in to the etymology. It is clearly supported by multiple historical and lexicographical works, including the OED. The fact that it quickly came into common use in Britain has nothing to do with its etymology. —Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 00:43, 12 April 2017 (UTC)

A person of Italian descent

What's the reason behind it? --Backinstadiums (talk) 14:49, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

I dont know. It's possible that it originally referred to dark-skinned people, but as with wog, it changed meaning over time and then came to refer to Italians in America, who were more numerous than other southern European immigrants. I dont believe this theory myself, because unlike wog we dont have any documented use of guinea to refer to people other than the Italian use, so there would need to be two semantic shifts (country to people and then people to people) happening so quickly that we lost track of the middle step. I wouldnt propose a theory with no evidence at all were it not for the fact that we've got no evidence for any other theory either. —Soap— 11:37, 23 August 2023 (UTC)

Less likely, but still worth at least considering, it could be a short form of guinea pig in the sense of someone who works on a boat, which might in turn derive from the currency (see talk:guinea pig). Doesnt make a lot of sense (were Italians known for working on British boats, let alone for working on British boats in India?), but when the trail runs cold we have to consider improbable paths. —Soap— 06:13, 31 August 2023 (UTC)