Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Avoirdupois weight.
- noun Informal Weight or heaviness, especially of a person.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A system of weight in which one pound contains 16 ounces.
- noun The weight of anything according to the avoirdupois system: as, his avoirdupois was 150 pounds.
- noun Also written
averdupois , and often abbreviated toavoir . and avdp.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- obsolete Goods sold by weight.
- Avoirdupois weight.
- colloq. Weight; heaviness.
- a system of weights by which coarser commodities are weighed, such as hay, grain, butter, sugar, tea.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The official system of weights used in
UK between 1856 and 1963. It had been the customary system inLondon since 1300 CE. - noun The official system of weights used in
USA between 1866 and 1959. - noun
Weight ;heaviness .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a system of weights based on the 16-ounce pound (or 7,000 grains)
- noun excess bodily weight
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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SAVE THE POUND (avoirdupois) If the word avoirdupois sounds a bit foreign too it is from French and Middle English (Anglo-French) avoir de pois, "goods of weight" or "goods sold by weight".
Archive 2007-10-21 2007
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SAVE THE POUND (avoirdupois) If the word avoirdupois sounds a bit foreign too it is from French and Middle English (Anglo-French) avoir de pois, "goods of weight" or "goods sold by weight".
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There are two series of weights in use among us; the one called avoirdupois, the other troy.
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There are two series of weights in use among us; the one called avoirdupois, the other troy.
Public Papers 1775
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Sorry, but I have lived with metric most of my life and converting to avoirdupois is too much of a pain for me.
More thoughts on why low-carb the second time around | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2009
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“Are you reminding me of her character, her social position or what Mr. Phinn calls her avoirdupois?”
Scales of Justice Marsh, Ngaio, 1895-1982 1955
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Though he had not yet gathered that avoirdupois which is associated with the dignity of office, there was in his square young frame an undeniable promise.
The Rim of the Desert Ada Woodruff Anderson
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The rest of the day was spent in a kind of avoirdupois war.
The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford — Volume 2 Horace Walpole 1757
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I find several comments reflecting my interest in an accurate rifle, without complaining overly much about the avoirdupois.
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I find several comments reflecting my interest in an accurate rifle, without complaining overly much about the avoirdupois.
chained_bear commented on the word avoirdupois
"'There ain't enough room for it on the slate, and anyhow they are avoirdupois ounces instead of Troy. But... the answer is well over two millions of money.'"
--P. O'Brian, The Wine-Dark Sea, 227
March 16, 2008
gangerh commented on the word avoirdupois
'To have some peas'?
September 28, 2008
dontcry commented on the word avoirdupois
To see peas?
September 28, 2008
dontcry commented on the word avoirdupois
Seeing peas? Having seen peas?
September 28, 2008
dontcry commented on the word avoirdupois
Good-bye to peas - slang?
September 28, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word avoirdupois
A Sea of Words: "The standard system of weights used in Great Britain for all goods except precious metals, precious stones, and medicines. The avoirdupois pound contains 7,000 grains. The avoirdupois weight of the U.S. agrees with that of Great Britain in the pound, ounce, and dram, but the U.S. hundredweight contains 100 pounds and the British hundredweight 112 pounds; the ton, 20 hundredweights, differs accordingly in the U.S. and Britain." (p. 95–96)
October 13, 2008