philopena: Meaning and Definition of

phil•o•pe•na

Pronunciation: (fil"u-pē'nu), [key]
— n.
  1. a custom, presumably of German origin, in which two persons share the kernels of a nut and determine that one shall receive a forfeit from the other at a later time upon the saying of a certain word or the performance of a certain action.
  2. the thing shared.
  3. the forfeit paid.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.