Avoirdupois

Avoirdupois
The avoirdupois (pronounced /vrdpz/; French pronunciation:[avwadypw]) system is a system of weights (or,
properly, mass) based on a pound of sixteen ounces. It is the everyday system of weight used in the United States,
and is still widely used to varying degrees by many people in Canada, the United Kingdom, and some other former
British colonies despite the official adoption of the metric system. An alternate system of mass is generally used for
precious materials, Troy weight.

History of the term

The word avoirdupois is from Old French aveir de peis (later avoir de
pois), literally "goods of weight" (Old French aveir, "property, goods",
also "to have", comes from the Latin habere, "to have, to hold, to
possess property"; de = "from", cf. Latin; peis = "weight", from Latin
pensum). This term originally referred to a class of merchandise: aveir
de peis, "goods of weight", things that were sold in bulk and were
weighed on large steelyards or balances. Only later did it become
identified with a particular system of units used to weigh such
merchandise. The imaginative orthography of the day and the passage
of the term through a series of languages (Latin, Anglo-French and
English) has left many variants of the term, such as haberty-poie and
haber de peyse. (The Norman peis became the Parisian pois. In the
17th century de was replaced with du.)
Chart showing the relationships of English weight
measures.

Original forms
These are the units in their original French forms:

Table of mass units

Unit

Relative
value

dram or drachm

once
livre
quintal
tonne

Note: The plural of quintal is quintaux.

256

Notes

16 once

16
1

100
2,000 20 quintaux

Avoirdupois

British adaptation
When people in the United Kingdom began to use this system they included the stone, which was eventually defined
as fourteen avoirdupois pounds. The quarter, hundredweight, and ton were altered, respectively, to 28lb, 112lb, and
2,240lb in order for masses to be easily converted between them and stones. The following are the units in the
British or imperial adaptation of the avoirdupois system:

Table of mass units

Unit

Relative
value

dram or drachm

Metric
value

256 1.772g

ounce (oz)

Notes

16 oz

16 28.35g

16 dr

pound (lb)

1 453.6g

16 oz

stone (st)

14 6.350kg

quarter (qtr)

28 12.70kg

2 st

hundredweight (cwt)

112 50.80kg

4 qtr

2,240 1016kg

20 cwt

ton (t)
or
long ton (l. tn.)

2 qtr

Note: The plural form of the unit stone is either stone or stones, but stone is most frequently used.

American customary system

The thirteen British colonies in North America used the avoirdupois system. But they continued to use the British
system as it was, without the evolution that was occurring in Britain in the use of the stone unit. In 1824 there was
landmark new weights and measures legislation in the United Kingdom that the United States did not adopt.
In the United States, quarters, hundredweights, and tons remain defined as 25, 100, and 2,000lb respectively. The
quarter is now virtually unused, as is the hundredweight outside of agriculture and commodities. If disambiguation is
required, then they are referred to as the smaller "short" units in the United States, as opposed to the larger British
"long" units. Grains are used worldwide for measuring gunpowder and smokeless powder charges. Historically, the
dram has also been used worldwide for measuring gunpowder charges, for measuring powder charges for shotguns
and large blackpowder rifles.

Table of mass units

Unit

grain (gr)
dram (dr)
ounce (oz)

Relative
value

Metric
value

7000 64.80mg

256 1.772g

Notes

7000lb
1

16 oz

16 28.35g

16 dr

pound (lb)

1 453.6g

16 oz

quarter (qtr)

25 11.34kg

25lb

hundredweight (cwt)

100 45.36kg

4 qtr

Avoirdupois

3
ton (t)
or
short ton (sh. tn.)

2,000 907.2kg

20 cwt

Internationalization
In the avoirdupois system, all units are multiples or fractions of the pound, which is now defined as 0.45359237kg
in most of the English-speaking world since 1959. (See the Mendenhall Order for references.)
Due to the ambiguous meanings of "weight" as referring to both mass and force, it is sometimes erroneously asserted
that the pound is only a unit of force. However, as defined above the pound is a unit of mass, which agrees with
common usage. Also see pound-force and pound-mass.

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Avoirdupois Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=412929222 Contributors: 1diot, Adailton, AdamRaizen, Aeusoes1, AllanBz, AndreasPraefcke, Aranel, Beao, Belg4mit,
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Femto, F, Gene Nygaard, GeorgeLouis, Gettingtoit, Guy M, Hairy Dude, Ian Dalziel, Ianeiloart, Icairns, Indefatigable, Jimp, K, KnightRider, Koubiak, Kwamikagami, Lasta, Lebart, Lobbuss,
MJCdetroit, Mearklejan, Mike Kapuskar, Mmm, Mormegil, Mulad, N35w101, Neelix, Nickmanview, Nicolas1981, Nnh, Nwbeeson, Onco p53, Pearle, Picapica, Quebec99, RandomTeri, Revised
Edition, Rhialto, Rnt20, Seanwal111111, SebastianHelm, SeymourSycamore, Sobolewski, Sodinedia, Speight, SteinbDJ, Swsiferd, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?, The Font, The1exile, Tim
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:English mass units short.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:English_mass_units_short.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: User:Wikid77

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