Pound

Pound
/pownd/, n.
1. Ezra Loomis /looh"mis/, 1885-1972, U.S. poet.
2. Louise, 1872-1958, U.S. scholar and linguist.
3. her brother, Roscoe, 1870-1964, U.S. legal scholar and writer.

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Unit of weight in the avoirdupois system, the traditional European system of weight (incorporated into the British Imperial system and the U.S. system of weights and measures), equal to 16 oz, 7,000 grains, or 0.

4536 kg. It is also a unit of weight in the troy and apothecaries' systems (two other traditional systems of weight), equal to 12 troy or apothecaries' oz, 5,760 grains, or 0.37 kg. Its Roman ancestor, the libra, is the source of the abbreviation lb. The troy pound is used for precious metals, the apothecaries' pound for drugs. The British monetary pound is linked historically with the minting of silver coins (sterlings). Large payments were reckoned in "pounds of sterlings," later shortened to "pounds sterling." See also gram; International System of Units; measurement; metric system; ounce.

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▪ unit of weight
      unit of avoirdupois weight, equal to 16 ounces, 7,000 grains, or 0.4536 kg, and of troy (troy weight) and apothecaries' weight, equal to 12 ounces, 5,760 grains, or 0.37 kg. The Roman ancestor of the modern pound, the libra, is the source of the abbreviation lb. In medieval England several derivations of the libra vied for general acceptance. Among the earliest of these, the Tower pound, so called because its standard was kept in the Royal Mint in the Tower of London (London, Tower of), was applied to precious metals and drugs and contained 5,400 grains, or 0.350 kg, while the mercantile pound contained 6,750 grains, or 0.437 kg. The troy pound, believed to have originated in Troyes, France, superseded the lighter Tower pound in 1527 as the gold and silver standard. Increased trade with France led also to the adoption of the 16-ounce avoirdupois pound in the 16th century to replace the mercantile pound.

      The British monetary pound (pound sterling) is historically linked with the minting of silver coins (sterlings) from the Tower pound. Large payments were reckoned in “pounds of sterlings,” later shortened to “pounds sterling.”

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Pound — may refer to:Units*Pound (currency), a unit of currency in various countries *Pound sign, £ *Pound sterling, the fundamental unit of currency in Great Britain * Pound (force), a unit of force *Pound (mass), various units of mass *Number sign, #,… …   Wikipedia

  • POUND (E.) — Critique, traducteur, poète, Pound a marqué la poésie américaine contemporaine de son empreinte: nul n’a échappé à son influence. L’œuvre de Pound, tendue et intransigeante, assure à la poésie américaine continuité et permanence; de même qu’elle… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • pound — pound1 [pound] n. pl. pounds; sometimes, after a number, pound [ME < OE pund, akin to Ger pfund: WGmc loanword < L pondo, a pound, orig. abl. of pondus, weight (in libra pondo, a pound in weight), akin to pendere: see PENDANT] 1. a) the… …   English World dictionary

  • pound — [paʊnd] noun [countable] 1. written abbreviation £ the standard unit of currency in Britain, which is divided into 100 pence: • a twenty pound note • a shortfall of millions of pounds 2. the (British) pound the value of the British currency… …   Financial and business terms

  • Pound — (engl. für ‚Pfund‘) steht für: pound (anglo amerikanische Gewichtseinheit) Pfund Sterling, die aktuelle britische Währung Pound (Software), eine Load Balancing Software £ oder ₤, das Pfundzeichen Pound ist der Name folgender Personen: Caspar… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pound — ● pound nom féminin Unité fondamentale britannique de masse (symbole lb). [La pound, dont le nom français correspondant est livre, est l unité d où sont dérivées les autres. C est la masse d un étalon en platine, l « Imperial Standard Pound »,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Pound — 〈[ paʊnd] n.; s, od. s; 〉 engl. Gewichtseinheit, 453,6 g * * * Pound [paʊnd], das; , s [engl. pound, eigtl. = Pfund, < aengl. pund < lat. pondo, ↑ Pfund]: englische Gewichtseinheit (453,60 g; Abk.: lb. [Sg.], lbs. [Pl.]). * * * I …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Pound — Pound, n.; pl. {Pounds}, collectively {Pound} or {Pounds}. [AS. pund, fr. L. pondo, akin to pondus a weight, pendere to weigh. See {Pendant}.] 1. A certain specified weight; especially, a legal standard consisting of an established number of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pound — Pound, n.; pl. {Pounds}, collectively {Pound} or {Pounds}. [AS. pund, fr. L. pondo, akin to pondus a weight, pendere to weigh. See {Pendant}.] 1. A certain specified weight; especially, a legal standard consisting of an established number of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pound — Ⅰ. pound [1] ► NOUN 1) a unit of weight equal to 16 oz avoirdupois (0.4536 kg), or 12 oz troy (0.3732 kg). 2) (also pound sterling) (pl. pounds sterling) the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. 3) another term for PUNT(Cf. ↑ …   English terms dictionary

  • Pound — Pound, n. [AS. pund an inclosure: cf. forpyndan to turn away, or to repress, also Icel. pynda to extort, torment, Ir. pont, pond, pound. Cf. {Pinder}, {Pinfold}, {Pin} to inclose, {Pond}.] 1. An inclosure, maintained by public authority, in which …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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