The quart (symbol: qt) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

unit of volume A unit of volume is a unit of measurement for measuring volume or capacity, the extent of an object or space in three dimensions. Units of capacity may be used to specify the volume of fluids or bulk goods, for example water, rice, sugar, grain or ...

equal to a quarter

gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austral ...

. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the

US customary system United States customary units form a system of Units of measurement, measurement units commonly used in the United States and Territories of the United States, U.S. territories since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States cust ...

and the of the

British imperial system The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thro ...

. All are roughly equal to one

liter The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

. It is divided into two

pint The pint (, ; symbol pt, sometimes abbreviated as ''p'') is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial unit, imperial and United States customary units, United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is tradition ...

s or (in the US) four

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

s. Historically, the exact size of the quart has varied with the different values of gallons over time and in reference to different commodities.

Name

The term comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

'' quartus'' (meaning one-quarter) via the French ''

quart The quart (symbol: qt) is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal ...

''. However, although the French word ''

'' has the same root, it frequently means something entirely different. In

Canadian French Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...

in particular, the quart is called '' pinte'', whilst the

is called ''

chopine A chopine is a type of women's platform shoe that was popular in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Chopines were originally used as a patten, clog, or overshoe to protect the shoes and dress from mud and street soil. Chopines were popular ...

''.

History

Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, the corresponding quarts have also existed with various sizes.

Definitions and equivalencies

US liquid quart

In the United States, all traditional length and volume measures have been legally standardized for commerce by the

international yard and pound The international yard and pound are two units of measurement that were the subject of an agreement among representatives of six nations signed on 1 July 1959: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. T ...

agreement of 1959, using the definition of 1 yard being exactly equal to 0.9144

meters The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

. From this definition is derived the metric equivalencies for inches, feet, and miles, area measures, and measures of volume. The US liquid quart equals 57.75

cubic inch The cubic inch (symbol in3) is a unit of volume in the Imperial units and United States customary units systems. It is the volume of a cube with each of its three dimensions (length, width, and height) being one inch long which is equivalent ...

es, which is exactly equal to 0.946352946 liters."Authorized tables"
,

United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...

, Title 15, ch. 6, subchapter I, sec. 205, accessed 19 July 2008.

US dry quart

In the United States, the dry quart is equal to one quarter of a US dry gallon, or exactly 1.101220942715 liters.

Imperial quart

The imperial quart, which is used for both liquid and dry capacity, is equal to one quarter of an imperial gallon, or exactly 1.1365225 liters. In the United Kingdom goods may be sold by the quart if the equivalent metric measure is also given. In

French Canada French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

, by federal law, the imperial quart is called pinte.

Winchester quart

The Winchester quart is an archaic measure, roughly equal to 2 imperial quarts or 2.25 liters. The 2.5L bottles in which laboratory chemicals are supplied are sometimes referred to as Winchester quart bottles, although they contain slightly more than a traditional Winchester quart.

Reputed quart

The reputed quart was a measure equal to two-thirds of an imperial quart (or one-sixth of an imperial gallon), at about 0.7577liters, which is very close to one US fifth (0.757 liters). The reputed quart was previously recognized as a standard size of wine bottle in the United Kingdom, and is only about 1% larger than the current standard wine bottle of 0.75L.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{United States Customary Units Alcohol measurement Cooking weights and measures Customary units of measurement in the United States Imperial units Units of volume