HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - List of obsolete units of measurement
OR:
List of obsolete units of measurement on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

This is a list of obsolete units of measurement, organized by type. These
units of measurement A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other quantity of that kind can ...
are typically no longer used, though some may be in limited use in various regions. For units of measurement that are unusual but not necessarily obsolete, see
List of unusual units of measurement An unusual unit of measurement is a unit of measurement that does not form part of a coherent system of measurement, especially because its exact quantity may not be well known or because it may be an inconvenient multiple or fraction of a base ...
. For units of measurement that are humorous in nature, see
List of humorous units of measurement Many people have made use of, or invented, units of measurement intended primarily for their humor Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The ...
.


Area

* Antsingae – a unit of area, smaller than the bunarium. * Bunarium (plural "bunaria") – a unit of area, equal to about 120
ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...
or 12,000
square metres The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter (American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square w ...
*
Carucate The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
* Cawnie *
Decimal The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers of the Hindu–Arabic numeral ...
*
Dessiatin A dessiatin or desyatina (russian: десятина) is an archaic, rudimentary land measurement used in tsarist Russia. A dessiatin is equal to 2,400 square sazhens and is approximately equivalent to 2.702 English acres or 10,926.512 square metr ...
* Ground * Hide * Juchart *
Jugerum The jugerum or juger ( la, iūgerum, ', ', or ') was a Roman unit of area, equivalent to a rectangle 240 Roman feet in length and 120 feet in width (about 71×35½m), i.e. 28,800 square Roman feet ( la, pedes quadratum) or about hectare (0.62 ...
* Katha * Lessa or Lecha
*
Virgate The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( la, virgāta was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as   hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal ...


Energy, etc.

*
Poncelet The poncelet (symbol p) is an obsolete unit of power, once used in France and replaced by (ch, metric horsepower). The unit was named after Jean-Victor Poncelet.François Cardarelli, ''Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: The ...
– unit of power *
Sthène The sthène (; symbol sn), sometimes spelled (or misspelled) sthéne or sthene (from grc, σθένος, sthénos, force), is an obsolete unit of force (physics), force or thrust in the metre–tonne–second system of units (mts) introduced in Fra ...
– unit of force *
Technical atmosphere Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
– a unit of pressure


Length

* Ald * Alen * Aṅgula *
Arabic mile The Arab, Arabic, or Arabian mile ( ar, الميل, ''al-mīl'') was a historical Arabic unit of length. Its precise length is disputed, lying between 1.8 and 2.0 km. It was used by medieval Arab geographers and astronomers. The predecessor of ...
* Arş and Arşın – two Turkish units of length *
Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
– also known as the Burmese
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
* Barleycorn – one-third of an inch. *
Button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, ...
– a unit of length which has been used in the UK. It is defined as . *
Cana Cana of Galilee ( grc, Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας; ar, قانا الجليل , translit= Qana al-Jalil , lit=Qana of the Galilee) is the location of the Marriage at Cana, at which the miracle of turning water into wine took place in ...
– a
unit of length A unit of length refers to any arbitrarily chosen and accepted reference standard for measurement of length. The most common units in modern use are the metric units, used in every country globally. In the United States the U.S. customary units ...
used in the former
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...
, at least in Catalonia. It is around the same value as the vara of Aragon, Spain, and Portugal. *
Cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding No ...
* Ell * Girah *
Guz A guz or the Mughal yard is a unit of length used in parts of Asia. Historically, it was a regionally variable measurement similar to the English yard both in size and in that it was often used for measuring textiles. Values of the guz ranged from ...
* Hat'h * Jow * Lachter – a unit of length once used in the
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
industry in most of Europe. It was usually used to measure depth, tunnel driving and the size of mining fields; it was also used for contract work. In mining in the German-speaking countries, it was the primary unit of length. *
Ligne The ''ligne'' ( ), or line or Paris line, is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. The ''loi du 19 frimaire an V ...
– a French unit of length, roughly equal to , or 9 points * Line *
Macedonian cubit The Macedonian cubit was a unit of measurement in use in Macedonia (ancient kingdom), ancient Macedonia. It was approximately 14 inches long, making it somewhat shorter than other cubit measurements used in the ancient world. See also

*Ancient ...
*
Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...
*
Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...
*
Parasang The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the league. In modern terms the distance is about 3 or 3½ miles (4.8 or 5.6 km). Hist ...
* Pes *
Pyramid inch The pyramid inch is a unit of measure claimed by pyramidologists to have been used in ancient times. History The first suggestion that the builders of the Great Pyramid of Giza used units of measure related to modern measures is attributed to O ...
– a unit of length, believed to be equal to of the cubit * Rod *
Sana lamjel Sana lamjel was a customary unit of length used in the erstwhile kingdom of Manipur, now a state of India. The unit of length, defined by the ruler of the kingdom, Nongda Lairen Pakhangpa in 33 CE, being equal to the distance from the floor to the ...
* Spat – a unit of length equal to * Stadion *
Step Step(s) or STEP may refer to: Common meanings * Stairs#Step, Steps, making a staircase * Walking * Dance move * Military step, or march ** Marching Arts Films and television * Steps (TV series), ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong * Step (film), ' ...
* Unglie *
Vara Vara or VARA may refer to: Geography *Vara (river), in Liguria, Italy * Vara Parish, former municipality in Tartu County, Estonia * Vara, Estonia, village in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County, Estonia * Vara Municipality, municipality in western S ...
– an Aragonese, Spanish and Portuguese unit *
Yojana A yojana (Sanskrit: योजन; th, โยชน์; my, ယူဇနာ) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Thailand and Myanmar. A yojana is about 12–15 km. Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE) Ashoka, in his Major R ...
– a
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
measure of distance used in ancient
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Its value was about , although the exact value is disputed among scholars (between )


Luminosity

*
Candlepower Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 ...
– an obsolete unit expressing
luminous intensity In photometry, luminous intensity is a measure of the wavelength-weighted power emitted by a light source in a particular direction per unit solid angle, based on the luminosity function, a standardized model of the sensitivity of the human eye. ...
equal to 0.981
candela The candela ( or ; symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to ...
, it expresses levels of light intensity in terms of the light emitted by a
candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candles i ...
of specific size and constituents. In modern usage ''candlepower'' equates directly to the unit known as the candela. * Carcel burner – an efficient lighting device used in the nineteenth century for domestic purposes and in France as the standard measure for illumination *
Carcel The Carcel is a former French unit for measuring the intensity of light. The unit was defined in 1860 as the intensity of a Carcel lamp with standard burner and chimney dimensions, which burnt colza oil (obtained from the seed of the plant Brassi ...
* Hefner candle * Violle


Mass or weight

* Abucco – in
Bago, Myanmar Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langu ...
, this was a unit of mass used for
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
. It was approximately 196.44 grams or 6.316
troy ounce Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and the ...
s. *
Arroba ''Arroba'' is a Portuguese and Spanish custom unit of weight, mass or volume. Its symbol is @. History The word ''arroba'' has its origin in Arabic ''ar-rubʿ'' (الربع) or "quarter," specifically the fourth part (of a quintal), which de ...
– an Iberian unit of weight, equivalent to 11.5 kilograms * Bag – a standard weight for a bag of cement was * Buddam *
Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...
*
Corgee A corgee is an obsolete unit of mass equal to 212 moodahs, or rush mat bundles of rice. The unit was used in the Canara (now Kanara) region of Karnataka in India. See also *List of customary units of measurement in South Asia * List of obsolete un ...
– an obsolete unit of mass equal to 212 moodahs, or rush mat bundles of rice. The unit was used in the Canara (now
Kanara Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...
) region of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. * Cullingey * Dharni *
Dirham The dirham, dirhem or dirhm ( ar, درهم) is a silver unit of currency historically and currently used by several Arab and Arab influenced states. The term has also been used as a related unit of mass. Unit of mass The dirham was a un ...
*
Duella A duella was an ancient Roman unit of weight, equivalent to a third of a Roman ounce (9.056 gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogr ...
* Dutch cask – a British unit of mass, used for butter and cheese. Equal to . * Esterling *
Faggot Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to: Arts and crafts * Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel * Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease * F ...
– has multiple meanings in
metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in Fran ...
. As relevant to this article, it was a unit of mass, being . * Grzywna *
Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
– a UK unit of mass for
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
, equalling * Large sack – a unit of mass equal to 2 (new) sacks * Long ton *
Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
*
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...
* Munjandie *
Oka Oka or OKA may refer to: Cars * Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ * OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA Military * 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...
* Pao * Passeree – a unit of mass equal to about *
Pennyweight A pennyweight (dwt) is a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, of a troy ounce, of a troy pound, approximately 0.054857 avoirdupois ounce and exactly 1.55517384 grams. It is abbreviated dwt, ''d'' standing for ''denarius'' (an ancien ...
*
Pood ''Pood'' ( rus, пуд, r=pud, p=put, plural: or ) is a unit of mass equal to 40 ''funt'' (, Russian pound). Since 1899 it is set to approximately 16.38 kilograms (36.11 pounds). It was used in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. ''Pood'' was first ...
* Roll – a U.K. unit of mass for butter and cheese equal to * Room – a U.K. unit of mass of
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
equivalent to *
Sarpler Sarpler, Sarplier or (in Scotland) Serplathe was a UK weight for wool. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, pu ...
* Ship load *
Slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...
* Talent – a unit of mass in the tens of kg *
Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
* Tod *
Truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
– a unit of mass used to describe tight bundle of
hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
or
straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...
. It would usually be
cuboid In geometry, a cuboid is a hexahedron, a six-faced solid. Its faces are quadrilaterals. Cuboid means "like a cube", in the sense that by adjusting the length of the edges or the angles between edges and faces a cuboid can be transformed into a cub ...
, for storage or shipping, and would either be harvested into such bundles or cut from a large rick. *
Whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...
– a unit of mass used for butter and cheese *
Zentner The zentner (German ''Zentner'', from Latin ''centenarius'', derived from ''centum'' meaning "hundred") is a name for a unit of mass which was used predominantly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, although it was also sometimes used in the Unit ...
*
Zolotnik A zolotnik (in Russian: золотни́к; abbr.: zol.) was a small Russian unit of weight, equal to 0.1505 avoirdupois ounces, or 4.2658 grams (about 65.83 grains). Used from the 10th to 20th centuries, its name is derived from the Russian word ...


Temperature

*
Delisle scale The Delisle scale is a temperature scale invented in 1732 by the French astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle (1688–1768). Delisle was the author of ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire et aux progrès de l'Astronomie, de la Géographie et de la ...
*
Leiden scale The Leiden scale (°L) was used to calibrate low-temperature indirect measurements in the early twentieth century, by providing conventional values (in kelvins, then termed "degrees Kelvin") of helium vapour pressure. It was used below −183  ...
*
Newton scale The Newton scale is a temperature scale devised by Isaac Newton in 1701. He called his device a "thermometer", but he did not use the term "temperature", speaking of "degrees of heat" (''gradus caloris'') instead. Newton's publication represents ...
– a
temperature scale Scale of temperature is a methodology of calibrating the physical quantity temperature in metrology. Empirical scales measure temperature in relation to convenient and stable parameters, such as the freezing and boiling point of water. Absolute ...
devised by
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...
in 1701.Published anonymously as "Scala graduum Caloris. Calorum Descriptiones & signa." in *
Réaumur scale __NOTOC__ The Réaumur scale (; °Ré, °Re, °r), also known as the "octogesimal division", is a temperature scale for which the melting and boiling points of water are defined as 0 and 80 degrees respectively. The scale is named for René An ...
*
Rømer scale The Rømer scale (; notated as °Rø), also known as Romer or Roemer, is a temperature scale named after the Danish astronomer Ole Christensen Rømer, who proposed it in 1701. It is based on the freezing point of pure water being 7.5 degrees a ...
*
Wedgwood scale The Wedgwood scale (°W) is an obsolete temperature scale, which was used to measure temperatures above the boiling point of mercury of . The scale and associated measurement technique were proposed by the English potter Josiah Wedgwood in the 1 ...


Volume (dry or liquid)

*
Acetabulum The acetabulum (), also called the cotyloid cavity, is a concave surface of the pelvis. The head of the femur meets with the pelvis at the acetabulum, forming the hip joint. Structure There are three bones of the ''os coxae'' (hip bone) that c ...
* Adowlie *
Amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
*
Aum ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Through Ved ...
*
Belshazzar Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning " Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might ...
* Botella − The Spanish for "bottle", which has been given various standard capacities at different times and places, and for different fluids. * Coomb * Cord-foot – a U.S. unit of volume for stacked
firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...
with the symbol ''cd-ft'' equal to *
Cotyla :''The cotylae are also features on the proximal end of the radius and of the ulna in birds.'' In classical antiquity, the cotyla or cotyle () was a measure of capacity among the Greeks and Romans: by the former it was also called ; by the latte ...
* Cran * Cullishigay *
Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...
– a former U.K. and U.S. unit of volume for stacked firewood. A U.K. deal equaled 7 ft × 6 ft × in, while a U.S. deal equaled 12 ft × 11 in × in. * Demiard – an old French unit of volume. When France metricated, it survived in Louisiana and Quebec. The demiard eventually became associated with the American and British half-pint rather than French units. See the article on the demiard for details. *
Firlot The firlot was a dry measure used in Scotland. For centuries it was the primary measure for all grains sold in the country. In the Scottish system a firlot was equal to 4 pecks, and the boll was equal to 4 firlots. The first attempt of the Scottis ...
*
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 ...
*
Hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commodity). More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily applied to alcoho ...
*
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
* House cord – a former U.S. unit of volume for stacked firewood *
Kile Kile or KILE may refer to: * Darryl Kile, a Major League Baseball player * Kile, a TeX/LaTeX text editor * Kile, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland * Kile (surname) * Kile (unit), an Ottoman unit of volume * KWCC-FM, a radio station (89.5 F ...
*
Koku The is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 or approximately , or about . It converts, in turn, to 100 shō and 1000 gō. One ''gō'' is the volume of the "rice cup", the plastic measuring cup that is supplied ...
*
Lambda Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise ...
– an uncommon metric unit of volume discontinued with the introduction of the SI * London quarter * Lump of butter – used in the U.S., up to and possibly after of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. It equaled "one well rounded tablespoon". * Masu *
Metretes A metretes was an ancient Greek unit of liquid measurement, equivalent to 39.3 liters. See also *Ancient Greek units of measurement Ancient Greek units of measurement varied according to location and epoch. Systems of ancient weights and measures ...
*
Octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...
*
Omer Omer may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Omer (unit), an ancient unit of measure used in the era of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem * The Counting of the Omer (''sefirat ha'omer''), a 49 day period in the Jewish calendar * Omer (Book of Mormon), a Jaredite ...
* Pau *
Peck A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 2 dry gallons or 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. An imperial peck is equivalent to 9.09 liters and a US customary peck is equivalent to 8.81 liters. Two pecks mak ...
– the name of two different units of volume, one imperial and one U.S. Both equaled about 9 litres. * Puddee * Salt spoon – used in the U.S., up to and possibly after of the American Revolution. Four salt spoons equaled one teaspoon. * Seah *
Ser Ser or SER may refer to: Places * Ser, a village in Bogdand Commune, Satu Mare County, Romania * Serpens (Ser), an astronomical constellation of the northern hemisphere * Serres, known as Ser in Serbian, a city in Macedonia, Greece Organization ...
*
Shipping ton A shipping ton, freight ton, measurement ton or ocean ton is a measure of volume used for shipments of freight in large vehicles, trains or ships. In the USA, it is equivalent to while in the UK it is . It should not be confused with other types o ...
– a unit of volume defined as * Stuck * Wineglass – used in the U.S., up to and possibly after of the American Revolution. One wineglass equaled cup.


Other

*
Apothecaries' system The apothecaries' system, or apothecaries' weights and measures, is a historical system of mass and volume units that were used by physicians and apothecaries for medical prescriptions and also sometimes by scientists."Medicinal-Gewicht, Apotheke ...
* Atom (time) – a hypothetical unit of time used in the Middle Ages * Bahar – a unit of length in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and was a unit of mass in
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
*
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
– mostly a unit of mass, but sometimes a unit of area * Demal – unit of concentration * Dimi (metric prefix) – a discontinued non- SI metric prefix for 10−4 *
Fanega The fanega or Spanish bushel was an old measure of dry capacity in Spanish-speaking countries. It was generally used in an agricultural context to measure quantities of grain. The measure varied greatly, but in Castile, it was equivalent to ...
– a unit of dry volume, and a unit of area *
Fresnel Augustin-Jean Fresnel (10 May 1788 – 14 July 1827) was a French civil engineer and physicist whose research in optics led to the almost unanimous acceptance of the wave theory of light, excluding any remnant of Newton's corpuscular the ...
– a unit of frequency * Garce – a unit of dry volume in India, and a unit of mass in Sri Lanka *
Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional race of people in the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. About half average human height, Tolkien presented hobbits as a variety of humanity, or close relatives thereof. Occasionally known as halflings in Tolkien's writings, ...
– a unit of volume, or, more rarely, of weight * Kula – a unit of area in India, and mass in Morocco *
Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...
– a unit of mass or volume *
League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
– usually a unit of length, but sometimes a unit of area *
Mache Mache may refer to: Food * ''Mâche'', French name of the edible salad green ''Valerianella locusta'', also known as corn salad and lamb's lettuce * Mache (food), Filipino rice flour balls flavored with pandan People * Heinrich Mache, Austrian ...
*
Mesures usuelles Mesures usuelles (, ''customary measurements'') were a French system of measurement introduced by Napoleon I in 1812 to act as compromise between the metric system and traditional measurements. The system was restricted to use in the retail indust ...
*
Perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...
– most commonly a unit of area, but sometimes a unit of length or volume * Pièze – a unit of pressure *
Quibi Quibi ( ) was a short-lived American short-form streaming platform that generated content for viewing on mobile devices. It was founded in Los Angeles in August 2018 as NewTV by Jeffrey Katzenberg and was led by Meg Whitman, its CEO. The servic ...
– a unit of time equal to 10 minutes. First used in Quibi’s own
Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
advertising campaign, this word saw small amounts of ironic adoption. *
Rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...
– a unit of area or length * Sack – originally a medieval unit of mass, equal to 26 stone (364 pounds, or about 165 kg). Since a unit of dry volume, equal to 24 imperial gallons (about 109 liters). *
Schoenus Schoenus ( la, schœnus; grc-gre, σχοίνος, ''schoinos'',  " rush rope"; egy, i͗trw, "river-measure") was an ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman unit of length and area based on the knotted cords first used in Egyptian surveying. ...
– a unit of area or length *
Scrupulum , meaning a tiny stone (from ' sharp stone), indicates a weight of of a Roman ounce (i.e.) or, by extension, of other measures. Metaphorically, the stone is thought to be sharp and pricking, like a thorn. * As a weight or a coin, of an , or o ...
– a unit of area, mass, or time * Seam – a unit of mass or volume *
Seer In the United States, the efficiency of air conditioners is often rated by the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) which is defined by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a trade association, in its 2008 standard AHRI ...
– a unit of mass or volume *
Toise A toise (; symbol: T) is a unit of measure for length, area and volume originating in pre-revolutionary France. In North America, it was used in colonial French establishments in early New France, French Louisiana (''Louisiane''), Acadia (''Acadi ...
– a unit of area, length, or volume * Tub – usually a unit of mass, but sometimes a unit of volume * Uncia – an ancient Roman unit of length, mass, or volume * Wey – a unit of mass or volume *
Winchester measure Winchester measure is a set of legal standards of volume instituted in the late 15th century (1495) by King Henry VII of England and in use, with some modifications, until the present day. It consists of the Winchester bushel and its depende ...
– a system of volume measurement


See also

*
Hair's breadth A hair's breadth, or the width of human hair, is used as an informal unit of a very short length. It connotes "a very small margin" or the narrowest degree in many contexts. Definitions This measurement is not precise because human hair varies ...
*
Hindu units of time Hindu units of time are described in Hindu texts ranging from microseconds to trillions of years, including cycles of cosmic time that repeat general events in Hindu cosmology. Time ( ) is described as eternal. Various fragments of time are desc ...
*
History of measurement The earliest recorded systems of weights and measures originate in the 3rd or 4th millennium BC. Even the very earliest civilizations needed measurement for purposes of agriculture, construction and trade. Early standard units might only have ap ...
*
List of humorous units of measurement Many people have made use of, or invented, units of measurement intended primarily for their humor Humour (Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The ...
*
List of scientific units named after people This is a list of scientific units named after people. For other lists of eponyms (names derived from people) see eponym. Note that by convention, the name of the unit is properly written in all-lowercase, but its abbreviation is capitalized. SI ...
*
List of unusual units of measurement An unusual unit of measurement is a unit of measurement that does not form part of a coherent system of measurement, especially because its exact quantity may not be well known or because it may be an inconvenient multiple or fraction of a base ...
* Medieval weights and measures *
Muggeseggele A ''Muggeseggele'' or ''Muckenseckel'' is a humorous Alemannic German idiom used in Swabia to designate a nonspecific very small length or amount of something; it refers to a housefly's scrotum. It has been called the smallest Swabian unit of m ...
*
System of measurement A system of measurement is a collection of units of measurement and rules relating them to each other. Systems of measurement have historically been important, regulated and defined for the purposes of science and commerce. Systems of measurement i ...


By geography

*
Ancient Arabic units of measurement The Ancient Arabic unit of measurements were a system of using units to associate with physical quantities. Arabic symbols are used to represent the values. The measurements were based on body measurements and common natural items. The length of for ...
*
Ancient Egyptian units of measurement Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
*
Ancient Greek units of measurement Ancient Greek units of measurement varied according to location and epoch. Systems of ancient weights and measures evolved as needs changed; Solon and other lawgivers also reformed them ''en bloc''. Some units of measurement were found to be conven ...
*
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer. Each city, kingdom and trade guild had its own standards until the formation of the Akkadian Empire when Sargon of Akkad issued a ...
*
Ancient Roman units of measurement The ancient Roman units of measurement were primarily founded on the Hellenic system, which in turn was influenced by the Egyptian system and the Mesopotamian system. The Roman units were comparatively consistent and well documented. Length T ...
*
Danish units of measurement The Danes started with a system of units based on a Greek ''pous'' ("foot") of which they picked up through trade in the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age. Some early standards of measure can be recovered from measured drawings made of the Hjortspr ...
*
Obsolete Finnish units of measurement The obsolete Finnish units of measurement consist mostly of a variety of units traditionally used in Finland that are similar to those that were traditionally used in other countries and are still used in the United Kingdom (imperial units) and t ...
*
Obsolete German units of measurement The obsolete units of measurement of German-speaking countries consist of a variety of units, with varying local standard definitions. Some of these units are still used in everyday speech and even in stores and on street markets as shorthand for ...
*
History of measurement systems in India The history of measurement systems in India begins in early Indus Valley civilisation with the earliest surviving samples dated to the 5th millennium BCE.Iwata, 2254 Since early times the adoption of standard weights and measures has reflected in ...
*
Japanese units of measurement Traditional Japanese units of measurement or the shakkanhō (, "''shaku–kan'' system") is the traditional system of measurement used by the people of the Japanese archipelago. It is largely based on the Chinese system, which spread to Japan and ...
*
List of customary units of measurement in South Asia A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Maltese units of measurement In modern usage, metric is used almost exclusively in commercial transactions. These units are mostly historical, although they are still used in some limited contexts and in Maltese idioms and set phrases. Many of these terms are directly related t ...
* Obsolete Polish units of measurement *
Obsolete Russian units of measurement A native system of weights and measures was used in Imperial Russia and after the Russian Revolution, but it was abandoned after 21 July 1925, when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system, per the order of the Council of People's Commissars. T ...
*
Obsolete Scottish units of measurement Scottish or Scots units of measurement are the weights and measures peculiar to Scotland which were nominally replaced by English units in 1685 but continued to be used in unofficial contexts until at least the late 18th century. The system was ...
*
Obsolete Tatar units of measurement A native system of weights and measures was used by Tatars until 1924, but became obsolete when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system. The Tatar system shares many units with the Russian system (e.g. and ), which is close to the English (The ...
* Old Cornish units of measurement *
Old Irish units of measurement Early Irish law texts record a wide variety of units of measurement, organised into various systems. These were used from Early Christian Ireland (Middle Ages) or perhaps earlier, before being displaced by Irish measure from the 16th century onwar ...
*
Ottoman units of measurement The list of traditional Turkish units of measurement, a.k.a. Ottoman units of measurement, is given below. History The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923), the predecessor of modern Turkey was one of the 17 signatories of the Metre Convention in 18 ...
*
Persian units of measurement An official system of weights and measures was established in the ancient Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (550-350 BCE). The shekel and mina ("profane" or "sacred") were units of both weight and volume. A shekel or mina weight was equ ...
*
Portuguese customary units Portuguese customary units were used in Portugal, Brazil and other parts of the Portuguese Empire until the adoption of the metric system in the 19th century. The various systems of weights and measures used in Portugal until the 19th century com ...
*
Roman timekeeping In Roman timekeeping, a day was divided into periods according to the available technology. Initially the day was divided into two parts: the ''ante meridiem'' (before noon) and the ''post meridiem'' (after noon). With the advent of the sundial c ...
*
Spanish customary units There are a number of Spanish units of measurement of length or area that are virtually obsolete due to metrication. They include the vara, the cordel, the league and the labor. The units of area used to express the area of land are still encounte ...
*
Tamil units of measurement The Tamil units of measurement is a system of measurements that was traditionally used in ancient Tamil-speaking parts of South India. These ancient measurement systems spanned systems of counting, distances, volumes, time, weight as well as ...


References


Further reading

* ''Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and Measures''; Jan Gyllenbok; Birkhäuser; 2018; 3 Volumes. * ''Historical Metrology: A New Analysis of the Archaeological and the Historical Evidence Relating to Weights and Measures''; Algernon Berriman; Praeger; 1970; . {{Systems of measurement Lists of units of measurement