Approximate measures are units of

volumetric Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The defi ...

measurement which are not defined by a government or government-sanctioned organization, or which were previously defined and are now repealed, yet which remain in use. It may be that all English-unit derived capacity measurements are derived from one original approximate measurement: the mouthful, consisting of about ounce, called the ro in ancient Egypt (their smallest recognized unit of capacity). The mouthful was still a unit of liquid measure during

Elizabethan times The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

. (The principal Egyptian standards from small to large were the ro, hin,

hekat The hekat or heqat (transcribed ''HqA.t'') was an ancient Egyptian volume unit used to measure grain, bread, and beer. It equals 4.8 litres, or about 1.056 imperial gallons, in today's measurements. retrieved March 22, 2020 at about 7:00 ...

, and khar.) Because of the lack of official definitions, many of these units will not have a consistent value.

United Kingdom

* glass-tumbler *breakfast-cup * tea-cup * wine-glass * table-spoon * dessert-spoon * tea-spoon *black-jack *

demijohn A carboy, also known as a demijohn or a lady jeanne, is a rigid container with a typical capacity of . Carboys are primarily used for transporting liquids, often water or chemicals. They are also used for in-home fermentation of beverages, ...

(dame-jeanne) *

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

*gyllot (about equal to 1/2

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

) *

noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...

(1/4 pint) *

nipperkin The nipperkin is a unit of measurement of volume, equal to one-half of a quarter-gill, one-eighth of a Gill (volume), gill, or one thirty-second of an English units, English pint. In other estimations, one nip (an abbreviation that originated in 1 ...

(measure for liquor, containing no more than 1/2 pint) *tumblerful (10 fl oz or 2 gills or 2 teacupsful) * apothecaries' approximate measures **teacupful = about 4 fl oz **wineglassful = about 2 fl oz **tablespoonful = about 1/2 fl oz **dessertspoonful = about 2 fl dr **teaspoonful = about 1 fl dr ** drop = about minim *teacupful (5 fl oz, or 1 gill ibid) *wineglassful (2-1/2 fl oz or 1/2 gill or 1/2 teacupful or 1/4 tumblerful) *dessertspoonful (1/4 fl oz or 2 fl dr and equal to 2 teaspoonful or 1/2 tablespoonful) *teaspoonful (1/8 fl oz or 1 fl dr and also equal to 1/2 dessertspoonful or 1/4 tablespoonful)

United States

The vagueness of how these measures have been defined, redefined, and undefined over the years, both through written and oral history, is best exemplified by the large number of sources that need to be read and cross-referenced in order to paint even a reasonably accurate picture. So far, the list includes the ''

United States Pharmacopoeia The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization that ...

'',

U.S. FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

, ''A Manual of Weights, Measures, and Specific Gravity'', State Board Questions and Answers, MediCalc, ''MacKenzie's Ten Thousand Receipts'', Approximate Practical Equivalents, ''When is a Cup not a Cup?'', Cook's Info, knitting-and.com., and ''Modern American Drinks''.

Dash The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

es, pinches, and smidgens are all traditionally very small amounts well under a teaspoon, but not more uniformly defined. In the early 2000s some companies began selling measuring spoons that defined a

dash The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

as teaspoon, a pinch as teaspoon, and a smidgen as teaspoon. Based on these spoons, there are two smidgens in a pinch and two pinches in a dash. However, the 1954 Angostura “''Professional Mixing Guide''” states that “a dash” is 1/6th of a teaspoon, or 1/48 of an ounce, and Victor Bergeron (a.k.a. Trader Vic, famous saloonkeeper), said that for bitters it was teaspoon, but fl oz for all other liquids.

References

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