Paisa (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language ...

for money and wealth. In

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the ''Paisa'' currently equals of a

Rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, ...

. In

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

, the ''Poysha'' equals of a Bangladeshi Taka. In

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, the ''Baisa'' equals of an Omani Rial.

Etymology

The word ''paisa'' is from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

term ''padāṁśa'' (, basic unit), meaning 'quarter part base', from ''pada'' () "foot or quarter or base" and ''aṁśa'' () "part or unit". The pesa was also in use in colonial

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The colloquial term for money in Burmese, ''paiksan'' (), is derived from the Hindi term ''paisa'' (). INDO-SASANIAN

History

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extende ...

coins were often called "Gadhaiya Paise" (9th-10th century CE). Until the 1950s in India and Pakistan (and before 1947 in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

), the paisa was equivalent to 3 pies, of an

anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, or of a rupee. After the transition from a non-decimal currency to a

decimal currency Decimalisation or decimalization (see spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by powers of 10. Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal ...

, the paisa equaled of a rupee and was known as a ''naya paisa'' ("new paisa") for a few years to distinguish it from the old paisa that was of a rupee.

Terminology

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Afghan Persian,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

and other languages, the word paisa often means money or cash. Medieval trade routes that spanned the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

between India, the Arab regions and East Africa spread the usage of

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

and Arabic currency terms across these areas. The word ''pesa'' as a reference to money in East African languages such as Swahili dates from that period. An example of this usage is the older day

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

n mobile-phone-based money transfer service M-Pesa (which stands for "mobile pesa" or "mobile money").

Usage

* Poysha = of a Bangladeshi taka (no longer in circulation) * Paisa = of an

Indian rupee The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 '' paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use ...

* Paisa = of a Nepalese rupee * Baisa = of an Omani rial * Paisa = of a

Pakistani rupee The Pakistani rupee ( ur, / ALA-LC: ; currency symbol, sign: Re (singular) and Rs (plural); ISO 4217, ISO code: PKR) is the official currency of Pakistan since 1948. The coins and notes are issued and controlled by the central bank, namely St ...

(Officially demonetized from 1 October 2014)

Gallery

File:100 Baisa Oman reverso.png, 100 Omani Baisa note (reverse) File:100 Baisa Oman.png, 100 Omani Baisa note (1995) File:Pakistan 1989, 5 Paise Aluminum.jpg, 5 Pakistani Paisa (1989) File:৫০ পয়সা ২০০১ সালের নকশা সম্মূখভাগ - 50 Paisa year 2001 Front Part.png, 50 Bangladeshi Poysha (2001) File:৫০ পয়সা ২০০১ সালের নকশা - 50 Paisa year 2001 Back Part.png, 50 Bangladeshi Poysha (2001, reverse)

References

External links

Currencies of Asia Currencies of Bangladesh Coins of India Coins of Pakistan Economy of Nepal Economy of Pakistan {{SAsia-stub