quarter

n. Two bits. This in turn comes from the pieces of eight famed in pirate
movies Spanish silver crowns that could be broken into eight
pie-slice-shaped bits to make change. Early in American history the Spanish
coin was considered equal to a dollar, so each of these bits was considered
worth 12.5 cents. Syn. tayste , crumb , quad. Usage: rare. General
discussion of such terms is under nybble.

