# Paisa
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{{Short description|Idiom and monetary unit}}
{{About|the currency unit name in general|other uses|Paisa (disambiguation)}}
'''Paisa''' (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised [idiom](/source/idiom) for money and wealth. In [India](/source/India), [Nepal](/source/Nepal), and [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan), the ''paisa'' currently equals {{frac|1|100}} of a [rupee](/source/rupee). In [Bangladesh](/source/Bangladesh), the ''paisa'' equals {{frac|1|100}} of a [Bangladeshi taka](/source/Bangladeshi_taka). In [Oman](/source/Oman), the ''baisa'' equals {{frac|1|1000}} of an [Omani rial](/source/Omani_rial).
==Etymology==
The word ''paisa'' is from the [Sanskrit](/source/Sanskrit) term ''padāṁśa'' ({{lang|sa|पदांश}}, basic unit), meaning 'quarter part base', from ''pada'' ({{lang|sa|पद}}) "foot or quarter or base" and ''aṁśa'' ({{lang|sa|अंश}}) "part or unit".[{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paisa |title=paisa |encyclopedia=Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=3 February 2015}}][{{Cite web |url=http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=pada&trans=Translate&direction=AU |title=pada |publisher=spokensanskrit.de (version 4.2) |access-date=3 February 2015}}] The pesa was also in use in colonial [Kenya](/source/Kenya). The colloquial term for money in [Burmese](/source/Burmese_language), ''paiksan'' ({{lang|my|ပိုက်ဆံ}}), is derived from the Hindi term ''paisa'' ({{lang|hi|पैसा}}).[{{cite book|title=Myanmar-English Dictionary|year=1996|publisher=Myanmar Language Commission|isbn=1-881265-47-1}}]
thumb|Chaulukyas. 9th–10th century. Lot of sixty-eight AR 'Gadhaiya Paise'
==History==
[Chaulukya](/source/Chaulukya_dynasty) coins were often called "Gadhaiya Paise" (9th–10th century CE).[{{cite book|last1=Ray|first1=Himanshu Prabha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkyfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|title=Negotiating Cultural Identity: Landscapes in Early Medieval South Asian History|date=2019|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781000227932|pages=161–163|language=en}}] Until the 1950s in India and [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan) (and before 1947 in [British India](/source/British_India)), the paisa (back then spelled as ''pice'' in English) was equivalent to 3 [pies](/source/Pie_(monetary_subunit)), {{frac|1|4}} of an [anna](/source/Anna_(monetary_subunit)), or {{frac|1|64}} of a rupee. After the transition from a [non-decimal currency](/source/non-decimal_currency) to a [decimal currency](/source/decimal_currency), the paisa equaled {{frac|1|100}} of a rupee and was known as a ''naya paisa'' ("new paisa") for a few years to distinguish it from the old paisa(pice) that was {{frac|1|64}} of a rupee.
==Terminology==
In [Punjabi](/source/Punjabi_language), [Hindi](/source/Hindi), [Bengali](/source/Bengali_language), [Afghan Persian](/source/Afghan_Persian), [Urdu](/source/Urdu), [Nepali](/source/Nepali_language) and other languages, the word paisa often means money or cash. Medieval trade routes that spanned the [Arabian Sea](/source/Arabian_Sea) between India, the Arab regions and East Africa spread the usage of [Indian subcontinent](/source/Indian_subcontinent) and Arabic currency terms across these areas.[{{Cite journal | journal=NADA: The Southern Rhodesia Native Affairs Department Annual |title=Cowry: Ndoro |issue=30 | first=M. D. W. |last=Jeffreys | year=1953 | publisher=Government of Southern Rhodesia | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FAUAAAAIAAJ&q=currency+terms+pesa%2C+upeni | quote=...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 |access-date=3 February 2015}}] The word ''pesa'' as a reference to money in East African languages such as [Swahili](/source/Swahili_language) dates from that period.[{{Cite web|url=http://www.sbp.org.pk/finance/Coins.asp|title=State Bank of Pakistan}}]
==Gallery==
File:100 Baisa Oman reverso.png|100 Omani Baisa note (reverse)
File:100 Baisa Oman.png|100 Omani Baisa note (1995)
File:৫০ পয়সা ২০০১ সালের নকশা সম্মূখভাগ - 50 Paisa year 2001 Front Part.png|50 Bangladeshi Paisa (2001)
File:৫০ পয়সা ২০০১ সালের নকশা - 50 Paisa year 2001 Back Part.png|50 Bangladeshi Paisa (2001, reverse)
==See also==
{{Portal|Money}}
*[Bangladeshi taka](/source/Bangladeshi_taka)
*[Indian paisa](/source/Indian_paisa)
* [Eco-Pesa](/source/Eco-Pesa)
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commons category|Paisa (coins)}}
{{Historic Indian currency and coinage}}
{{Rupee}}
Category:Currencies of Asia
Category:Currencies of Bangladesh
Category:Coins of India
Category:Coins of Pakistan
Category:Economy of Nepal
Category:Economy of Pakistan
Category:Rupee
{{money-unit-stub}}
{{SAsia-stub}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Paisa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.