PENYFADYR: Johannes Penyfadyr, a charter witness at Yester, 1374 (Yester, p. 26). Defined of old as a niggard, a miser. 'The idea presumably was that the miser "fathered" or treasured every penny,' or as Congrave, the author of the famous French-English Dictionary says,

'The liberall doth spend his pelfe,

The pennyfather wastes himself.'

(English) Skinflint, Niggard, Miser [Middle English penifader, penyfadey; Old English pening, penig, penny + fœder, father] Richard Penifader.—Hundred Rolls The idea presumably was that the miser ‘fathered’ or treasured every penny.

Alas, this reconfirms what I Said, rather; Cosmus has ever been a penny-father.— Harrington, Epigrams (A.D. 1615), ii. 21.

A pound or pen for sheep and cattle, sometimes called a pin-fold or pound-fold-a manorial prison for trespassing animals. Atte Punfald. H.R.

A term of reproach applied to a miser or penurious person. Nash speaks of —

(U.S. Penefather.) These names may be from the W. penffetter, headstrong, stubborn, obstinate. Hearne however derives the name of a street called Penny-farthing Street from a wealthy family whose name of Penyvadir or Penyfadir he had met with in old registers; and, if so, these names may be derived from locality; perhaps from W. pen-y-ffed-tir, the head of the outward land; or pen-y-mad-dir, the head of the good land. Lower says the forms of the name Pennyfather in H.R. are Penifader and Penifadir. He gives also a Barnfather and a Bairnsfather, which however he derives from a different source. There is the U.S. name Pennymaker.

Penfold or Pennifold is an old Sussex name. Stephen Penfold was twice mayor of Chichester in the reign of Charles II. (H. C.), and the name is still in the town; at that time the Penfolds held large estates in the parish of Angmering (D.): Hugh Penfold owned the Cissbury estate, Findon, in 1794 (L. S.).