Paisa

The paisa (Nepali: पैसा, Hindi: पैसा, Urdu: پیسہ‎) or poisha (Bengali: পয়সা, in Bangladesh) is a monetary unit in several countries; cognate terms include baisa (Arabic: بيسة‎, in Oman).

In India, Nepal and Pakistan, the paisa currently equals ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a rupee. In Bangladesh, the poisha equals ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Bangladeshi taka. In Oman, the baisa equals ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of an Omani rial. The colloquial term for money in Burmese, paiksan (ပိုက်ဆံ), derives from the Hindi term paisa.

The word paisa is from Hindi and Urdu paisā, a quarter-anna coin, ultimately from Sanskrit term padāṁśa meaning 'quarter part', from pada "foot or quarter" and aṁśa "part". Another explanation is that the word derives from Spanish and Portuguese ´pesa´ from which peso and diminutive peseta are derived. The pesa was also in use in colonial Kenya.

Until the 1950s in India and Pakistan (and before 1947 in British India), the paisa was equivalent to 3 pies, ¼ of an anna, or ¹⁄₆₄ of a rupee. After the transition from a non-decimal currency to a decimal currency, the paisa equaled 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 that was ¹⁄₆₄ of a rupee.

Paisa (disambiguation)

Paisa may refer to:

Paisa Region

A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia including the part of the Andes in Colombia. The Paisa region is formed by the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío. Some regions of Valle del Cauca Department (north) and Tolima Department (west) belong to the cultural identity of paisas. The main cities are Medellín, Pereira, Manizales and Armenia.

The name of Paisa derives from the Spanish apocope of Paisano (one from the same country), although they are also known as "Antioqueños" (those from the old Antioquia that included the other Paisa provinces and that was a single administrative body until the creation of the Caldas State in 1905.) Although many refer to Paisas as an ethnic group (raza antioqueña or raza paisa), they are a part of the Colombians and Latin American peoples.

Paisas can be found in other regions of Colombia and the Americas where they have migrated. They have a particular way of speaking Spanish to the point that some writers refer to it as "español antioqueño".