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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]] for money and wealth. In [[India]], [[Nepal]], and [[Pakistan]], the ''paisa'' currently equals {{frac|1|100}} of a [[rupee]]. In [[Bangladesh]], the ''paisa'' equals {{frac|1|100}} of a [[Bangladeshi taka]]. In [[Oman]], the ''baisa'' equals {{frac|1|1000}} of an [[Omani rial]].

==Etymology==

The word ''paisa'' is from the [[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".<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> The pesa was also in use in colonial [[Kenya]]. The colloquial term for money in [[Burmese language|Burmese]], ''paiksan'' ({{lang|my|ပိုက်ဆံ}}), is derived from the Hindi term ''paisa'' ({{lang|hi|पैसा}}).<ref>{{cite book|title=Myanmar-English Dictionary|year=1996|publisher=Myanmar Language Commission|isbn=1-881265-47-1}}</ref>
[[File:INDO-SASANIAN. Chaulukyas. 9th-10th century. Lot of sixty-eight AR Gadhaiya Paise.jpg|thumb|Chaulukyas. 9th–10th century. Lot of sixty-eight AR 'Gadhaiya Paise']]

==History==

[[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]] coins were often called "Gadhaiya Paise" (9th–10th century CE).<ref name="HPR">{{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}}</ref> Until the 1950s in India and [[Pakistan]] (and before 1947 in [[British India]]), the paisa (back then spelled as ''pice'' in English) was equivalent to 3 [[Pie (Indian coin)|pies]], {{frac|1|4}} of an [[Indian anna|anna]], or {{frac|1|64}} of a rupee. After the transition from a [[non-decimal currency]] to a [[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 language|Punjabi]], [[Hindi]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Afghan Persian]], [[Urdu]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]] and other languages, the word paisa often means money or cash. Medieval trade routes that spanned the [[Arabian Sea]] between India, the Arab regions and East Africa spread the usage of [[Indian subcontinent]] and Arabic currency terms across these areas.<ref name="gsr1953">{{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}}</ref> The word ''pesa'' as a reference to money in East African languages such as [[Swahili language|Swahili]] dates from that period.<ref name="gsr1953" /> An example of this usage is the older day [[Kenya]]n mobile-phone-based money transfer service [[M-Pesa]] (which stands for "mobile pesa" or "[[Mobile payment|mobile money]]").

==Usage==
* Paisa = {{frac|1|100}} of a [[Bangladeshi taka]] (no longer in circulation)
* [[Indian paisa|Paisa]] = {{frac|1|100}} of an [[Indian rupee]]  (only 50 paisa coins are de facto valid but no longer in circulation)
* Paisa = {{frac|1|100}} of a [[Nepalese rupee]]  (no longer in circulation)
* Baisa = {{frac|1|1000}} of an [[Omani rial]]
* Paisa = {{frac|1|100}} of a [[Pakistani rupee]] (Officially demonetized from 1 October 2014)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sbp.org.pk/finance/Coins.asp|title=State Bank of Pakistan}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="100">
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)
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Money}}
*[[Bangladeshi taka]]
*[[Indian paisa]]
* [[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]]


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