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The pound or pound-mass is a
unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...
of
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
used in
British imperial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
and United States customary
systems 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 ...
. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international
avoirdupois The avoirdupois system (; abbreviated avdp.) is a measurement system of weights that uses pounds and ounces as units. It was first commonly used in the 13th century AD and was updated in 1959. In 1959, by international agreement, the definiti ...
pound, which is legally defined as exactly , and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois
ounces The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lbm (for most pound definitions), # ( chiefly in the U.S.), and or ″̶ (specifically for the apothecaries' pound). The unit is descended from the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
(hence the abbreviation "lb"). The English word ''pound'' is
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
with, among others,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
, and
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
. These units are historic and are no longer used (replaced by the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...
). Usage of the unqualified term ''pound'' reflects the historical conflation of mass and weight. This accounts for the modern distinguishing terms ''pound-mass'' and ''
pound-force The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system. Pound-force should not be confused with pound-ma ...
''.


Etymology

The word 'pound' and its cognates ultimately derive from a borrowing into
Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
of the Latin expression ('the weight measured in '), in which the word is the
ablative In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. T ...
singular of the Latin noun ('weight').


Current use

The United States and countries of the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
agreed upon common definitions for the pound and the
yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...
. Since 1 July 1959, the
international avoirdupois pound The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defin ...
(symbol lb) has been defined as exactly . In the United Kingdom, the use of the international pound was implemented in the
Weights and Measures Act 1963 Weights and measures acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. T ...
. An
avoirdupois The avoirdupois system (; abbreviated avdp.) is a measurement system of weights that uses pounds and ounces as units. It was first commonly used in the 13th century AD and was updated in 1959. In 1959, by international agreement, the definiti ...
pound is equal to 16 avoirdupois
ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman units of measurement, Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The #International avoirdupois ounce, avoirdupois ounce ...
s and to exactly 7,000
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s. The conversion factor between the kilogram and the international pound was therefore chosen to be divisible by 7 with a
terminating decimal A repeating decimal or recurring decimal is decimal representation of a number whose digits are periodic (repeating its values at regular intervals) and the infinitely repeated portion is not zero. It can be shown that a number is rational if an ...
representation, and an (international) grain is thus equal to exactly . In the UK, the process of
metrication Metrication or metrification is the act or process of converting to the metric system of measurement. All over the world, countries have transitioned from local and traditional units of measurement to the metric system. This process began in F ...
and
European units of measurement directives As of 2009, the European Union had issued two units of measurement directives: In 1971 it issued Directive 71/354/EEC which required EU member states to standardise on the International System of Units (SI) rather than use a variety of CGS ...
were expected to eliminate the use of the pound and ounce, but in 2007 the European Commission abandoned the requirement for metric-only labelling on packaged goods there, and allowed for dual metric–imperial marking to continue indefinitely. When used as a measurement of body weight, common UK practice outside medical settings remains to use the
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
of 14 pounds as the primary measure e.g. "11 stone 4 pounds", rather than "158 pounds" (as done in the US), or "72 kilograms" as used elsewhere. In the United States, the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 declared the metric system to be the “preferred system of weights and measures” but did not suspend use of
United States customary units United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and U.S. territories since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system (USCS or USC) developed from English units ...
, and the United States is the only industrialised country where commercial activities do not predominantly use the metric system, despite many efforts to do so, and the pound remains widely used as one of the key customary units.


Historical use

Historically, in different parts of the world, at different points in time, and for different applications, the pound (or its translation) has referred to broadly similar but not identical standards of mass or force.


Roman

The (Latin for 'scale'/'balance') is an ancient Roman unit of mass that is now equivalent to 328.9 grams. It was divided into 12 (singular: ), or ounces. The is the origin of the abbreviation for pound, "lb".


In Britain

A number of different definitions of the pound have historically been used in Britain. Among these were the
avoirdupois pound The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally define ...
and the obsolete
Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
, merchant's and
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
pounds. Troy pounds and ounces remain in use only for the weight of certain precious metals, especially in the trade; these are normally quoted just in ounces (e.g. "500 ounces") and, when the type of ounce is not explicitly stated, the troy system is assumed. Historically, the
pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
was a
Tower pound The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally define ...
of silver. In 1528, the standard was changed to the
Troy pound 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 ...
.


Avoirdupois pound

The avoirdupois pound, also known as the wool pound, first came into general use c. 1300. It was initially equal to 6992 troy grains. The pound avoirdupois was divided into 16 ounces. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the avoirdupois pound was redefined as 7,000 troy grains. Since then, the
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
has often been an integral part of the avoirdupois system. By 1758, two Elizabethan Exchequer standard weights for the avoirdupois pound existed, and when measured in troy grains they were found to be of 7,002 grains and 6,999 grains.


=Imperial Standard Pound

= In the United Kingdom, weights and measures have been defined by a long series of Acts of Parliament, the intention of which has been to regulate the sale of commodities. Materials traded in the marketplace are quantified according to accepted units and standards in order to avoid fraud. The standards themselves are legally defined so as to facilitate the resolution of disputes brought to the courts; only legally defined measures will be recognised by the courts. Quantifying devices used by traders (weights, weighing machines, containers of volumes, measures of length) are subject to official inspection, and penalties apply if they are fraudulent. The
Weights and Measures Act 1878 Weights and measures acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. ...
marked a major overhaul of the British system of weights and measures, and the definition of the pound given there remained in force until the 1960s. The pound was defined thus (Section 4) "The ... platinum weight ... deposited in the Standards department of the Board of Trade ... shall continue to be the imperial standard of ... weight ... and the said platinum weight shall continue to be the Imperial Standard for determining the Imperial Standard Pound for the United Kingdom". Paragraph 13 states that the weight of this standard shall be called the Imperial Standard Pound, and that all other weights mentioned in the act and permissible for commerce shall be ascertained from it alone. The First Schedule of the Act gave more details of the standard pound: it is a platinum cylinder nearly high, and diameter, and the edges are carefully rounded off. It has a groove about from the top, to allow the cylinder to be lifted using an ivory fork. It was constructed following the destruction of the Houses of Parliament by fire in 1834, and is stamped "P.S. 1844, 1 lb" (P.S. stands for "Parliamentary Standard").


= Redefinition in terms of the kilogram

= The British 1878 Act said that contracts worded in terms of metric units would be deemed by the courts to be made according to the Imperial units defined in the Act, and a table of metric equivalents was supplied so that the Imperial equivalents could be legally calculated. This defined, in UK law, metric units in terms of Imperial ones. The equivalence for the pound was given as 1 lb = or 0.45359 kg, which made the kilogram equivalent to about . In 1883, it was determined jointly by the standards department of the British Board of Trade and the Bureau International that was a better approximation, and this figure, rounded to was given legal status by an
Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
in May 1898. In 1959, based on further measurements and international coordination, the International Yard and Pound Agreement defined an "international pound" as being equivalent to exactly . This meant that the existing legal definition of the UK pound differed from the international standard pound by . To remedy this, the pound was again redefined in the United Kingdom by the
Weights and Measures Act 1963 Weights and measures acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. T ...
to match the international pound, stating: "the pound shall be 0.453 592 37 kilogramme exactly", a definition which remains valid to the present day. The
2019 redefinition of the SI base units In 2019, four of the seven SI base units specified in the International System of Quantities were redefined in terms of natural physical constants, rather than human artifacts such as the standard kilogram. Effective 20 May 2019, the 144t ...
means that the pound is now defined precisely in terms of fundamental constants, ending the era of its definition in terms of physical prototypes.


Troy pound

A troy pound (abbreviated lb t) is equal to 12
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 and to 5,760 grains, that is exactly grams. Troy weights were used in England by jewellers. Apothecaries also used the troy pound and ounce, but added the drachms and scruples unit in the
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 ...
of weights.
Troy weight Troy weight is a system of Physical unit, 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 (unit), grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy oun ...
may take its name from the French market town of
Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
in France where English merchants traded at least as early as the early 9th century. The troy pound is no longer in general use or a legal unit for trade (it was abolished in the United Kingdom on 6 January 1879 by the Weights and Measures Act of 1878), but the troy ounce, of a troy pound, is still used for measurements of gems such as opals, and precious metals such as silver, platinum and particularly gold.


Tower pound

The system called Tower weight was the more general name for King Offa's pound. This dates to AD 757 and was based on the
silver penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
. The Tower pound was also called the Moneyers' Pound (referring to the Saxon
moneyer A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They beca ...
s before the Conquest), the easterling pound, which may refer to traders of eastern Germany, or to traders on the shore of the eastern Baltic sea, or dealers of Asiatic goods who settled at the Steelyard wharf; and the Rochelle Pound by French writers, because it was also in use at Rochelle. An almost identical weight was employed by the Germans for weighing gold and silver. The mercantile pound (1304) of 6750 troy grains, or 9600 Tower grains, derives from this pound, as 25
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
-weights or 15 Tower ounces, for general commercial use. Multiple pounds based on the same ounce were quite common. In much of Europe, the apothecaries' and commercial pounds were different numbers of the same ounce. The Tower system was referenced to a standard prototype found in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
and ran concurrently with the avoirdupois and troy systems until the reign of Henry VIII, when a royal proclamation dated 1526 required that the troy pound to be used for mint purposes instead of the Tower pound. No standards of the Tower pound are known to have survived. The Tower pound was equivalent to about 350 grams.


Merchants' pound

The merchants' pound (''mercantile pound'', , or ''commercial pound'') was considered to be composed of 25 rather than 20 Tower shillings of 12
pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
..  &  & It was equal to 9,600 wheat grains (15 tower ounces or 6,750 grains) and was used in England until the 14th century for goods other than
money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
and
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
("
electuaries An electuary is a medicine consisting of a powder or other ingredient mixed with something sweet such as honey to make it more palatable.
").


London pound

The London pound is that of the
Hansa, as used in their various trading places. The London pound is based on 16 ounces, each ounce divided as the tower ounce. It never became a legal standard in England; the use of this pound waxed and waned with the influence of the Hansa itself. A London pound was equal to 7,200 troy grains (16 troy ounces) or, equivalently, 10,240 tower grains (16 tower ounces).


In the United States

In the United States, the avoirdupois pound as a unit of mass has been officially defined in terms of the kilogram since the Mendenhall Order of 1893. That order defined the pound to be pounds to a kilogram. The following year, this relationship was refined as pounds to a kilogram, following a determination of the British pound. In 1959, the United States National Bureau of Standards redefined the pound (avoirdupois) to be exactly equal to 0.453 592 37 kilograms, as had been declared by the International Yard and Pound Agreement of that year. According to a 1959
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 ...
publication, the United States 1894 pound differed from the international pound by approximately one part in 10 million. The difference is so insignificant that it can be ignored for almost all practical purposes.


Byzantine litra

The Byzantines used a series of measurements known as pounds ( la, libra, grc, λίτρα, litra). The most common was the (, "pound of account"), established by
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
in 309/310. It formed the basis of the Byzantine
monetary system A monetary system is a system by which a government provides money in a country's economy. Modern monetary systems usually consist of the national treasury, the mint, the central banks and commercial banks. Commodity money system A commodity m ...
, with one of gold equivalent to 72 . A hundred were known as a (, "hundredweight"). Its weight seems to have decreased gradually from the original 324 grams to 319. Due to its association with gold, it was also known as the (, "gold pound") or (, "maritime pound"), but it could also be used as a measure of land, equalling a fortieth of the . The was specifically used for weighing olive oil or wood, and corresponded to 4/5 of the , i.e. 256 g. Some outlying regions, especially in later times, adopted various local measures, based on Italian, Arab or Turkish measures. The most important of these was the (, "silver pound") of 333 g, found in Trebizond and
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, and probably of Arab origin.


French livre

Since the Middle Ages, various pounds () have been used in France. Since the 19th century, a has referred to the '' metric pound'', 500g. The was equivalent to about and was used between the late 9th century and the mid-14th century. The or was equivalent to about and was used between the 1350s and the late 18th century. It was introduced by the government of
John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
. The was set equal to the kilogram by the decree of between 1800 and 1812. This was a form of official metric pound. The (customary unit) was defined as 500 grams by the decree of 28 March 1812. It was abolished as a unit of mass effective 1 January 1840 by a decree of 4 July 1837, but is still used informally.


German and Austrian Pfund

Originally derived from the Roman libra, the definition varied throughout the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
in the Middle Ages and onward. For example, the measures and weights of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
were reformed in 1761 by Empress
Maria Theresia of Austria Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...
. The unusually heavy Habsburg (civil) pound of 16 ounces was later defined in terms of 560.012 grams.
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n reforms in 1809 and 1811 adopted essentially the same standard as the Austrian pound. In
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, a reform in 1816 defined a uniform civil pound in terms of the Prussian foot and distilled water, resulting in a Prussian pound of 467.711 grams. Between 1803 and 1815, all German regions west of the
River Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...
were under French control, organised in the
departement In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
s:
Roer The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...
, Sarre,
Rhin-et-Moselle Rhin-et-Moselle (; ) was a department of the First French Republic and First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the rivers Rhine and Moselle. It was formed in 1797, when the left bank of the Rhine was annexed by France. Unti ...
, and
Mont-Tonnerre Mont-Tonnerre was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the ''Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Donar, ...
. As a result of the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
, these regions again became part of various German states. However, many of these regions retained the metric system and adopted a metric pound of precisely 500 grams. In 1854, the pound of 500 grams also became the official mass standard of the
German Customs Union The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...
and was renamed the , but local pounds continued to co-exist with the pound for some time in some German states. Nowadays, the term is sometimes still in use and universally refers to a pound of 500 grams.


Russian

The Russian pound (, ) is an
obsolete Russian unit 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 ...
of mass. It is equal to 409.51718 grams. In 1899, the was the basic unit of weight, and all other units of weight were formed from it; in particular, a was of a funt, and a was 40 .


The was a Scandinavian measurement that varied in weight between regions. From the 17th century onward, it was equal to 425.076 grams in Sweden but was abandoned in 1889 when Sweden switched to the metric system. In Norway, the same name was used for a weight of 498.1 grams. In Denmark, it equalled 471 grams. In the 19th century, Denmark followed Germany's lead and redefined the pound as 500 grams.


Portuguese and

The Portuguese unit that corresponds to the pounds of different nations is the , equivalent to 16 ounces of , a variant of the Cologne standard. This was introduced in 1499 by
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...
,
king of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...
. Based on an evaluation of bronze nesting weight piles distributed by Manuel I to different towns, the of Manuel I has been estimated to be of 457.8 g. In the early 19th century, the was evaluated at 459 g. In the 15th century, the was of 14 ounces of or 400.6 g. The Portuguese was the same as 2 . There were also of 12.5 and 13 ounces and of 15 and 16 ounces. The or standard was also used.


Jersey pound

A Jersey pound is an obsolete unit of mass used on the island of
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
from the 14th century to the 19th century. It was equivalent to about 7,561 grains (490 grams). It may have been derived from the French livre poids de marc.


Trone pound

The trone pound is one of a number of
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 ...
. It was equivalent to between 21 and 28 avoirdupois ounces (about 600-800 grams).


Metric pound

In many countries, upon the introduction of a
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...
, the pound (or its translation) became an historic and obsolete term, although some have kept it as an informal term without a specific value. In
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, the term is , in French , in Dutch , in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
, in
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
, and in
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
and
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
. Though not from the same linguistic origin, the Chinese (, also known as "
catty The catty, kati or , pronounced as jin in Mandarin and gan in Cantonese, is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries in some wet markets, street markets, and shops ...
") in
mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
has a modern definition of exactly 500 grams, divided into 10 (). Traditionally around 600 grams, the has been in use for more than two thousand years varying in exact value from one period to another, serving the same purpose as "pound" for the common-use measure of weight. In Hong Kong, for the purposes of commerce and trade between Britain and Imperial China in the preceeding centuries, that 3 Chinese catties was equivalent to 4 British imperial pounds, defining one catty as 604.78982 grams in weight precisely. Hundreds of older pounds were replaced in this way. Examples of the older pounds are one of around 459 to 460 grams in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America; one of 498.1 grams in Norway; and several different ones in what is now Germany. From the introduction of the
kilogram The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...
scales and measuring devices are denominated only in grams and kilograms. A pound of product must be determined by weighing the product in grams as the use of the ''pound'' is not sanctioned for trade within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.


Use in weaponry

Smoothbore cannon and carronades are designated by the weight in imperial pounds of round solid iron shot of diameter to fit the barrel. A cannon that fires a six-pound ball, for example, is called a ''six-pounder''. Standard sizes are 6, 12, 18, 24, 32 and 42 pounds; 68-pounders also exist, and other nonstandard weapons use the same scheme. See
carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...
. A similar definition, using
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
balls, exists for determining the
gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...
of
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
s.


See also

*
Pound-force The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system. Pound-force should not be confused with pound-ma ...
*
Slug (unit) The slug is a derived unit of mass in a weight-based system of measures, most notably within the British Imperial measurement system and the United States customary measures system. Systems of measure either define mass and derive a force unit ...


Notes


References


External links


Conversion between units


U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 811

National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 130
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pound Customary units of measurement in the United States Imperial units Units of mass Metricated units