During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the avoirdupois pound was redefined as 7,000 troy grains. The pound avoirdupois was divided into 16 ounces. It was initially equal to 6992 troy grains. The avoirdupois pound, also known as the wool pound, first came into general use c. Historical use įor broader coverage of this topic, see Avoirdupois system. 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, 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. '11 stone 4 pounds', rather than '158 pounds' (as done in the US), or '72 kilograms' as used elsewhere. When used as a measurement of body weight, common UK practice outside medical settings remains to use the stone of 14 pounds as the primary measure e.g. In the UK, the process of metrication and European units of measurement directives 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. The conversion factor between the kilogram and the international pound was therefore chosen to be divisible by 7 with a terminating decimal representation, and an (international) grain is thus equal to exactly 64.798 91 milligrams. Weights and Measures Act, 1963, Section 1(1) Īn avoirdupois pound is equal to 16 avoirdupois ounces and to exactly 7,000 grains. (b) the pound shall be 0.453 592 37 kilogram exactly. (a) the yard shall be 0.9144 metre exactly The yard or the metre shall be the unit of measurement of length and the pound or the kilogram shall be the unit of measurement of mass by reference to which any measurement involving a measurement of length or mass shall be made in the United Kingdom and. In the United Kingdom, the use of the international pound was implemented in the Weights and Measures Act 1963. Since 1 July 1959, the international avoirdupois pound (symbol lb) has been defined as exactly 0.453 592 37 kg. The United States and countries of the Commonwealth of Nations agreed upon common definitions for the pound and the yard. The word 'pound' and its cognates ultimately derive from a borrowing into Proto-Germanic of the Latin expression libra pondo ('the weight measured in libra'), in which the word pondo is the ablative singular of the Latin noun pondus ('weight'). 3.2.1.2 Redefinition in terms of the kilogram.This accounts for the modern distinguishing terms pound-mass and pound-force. Usage of the unqualified term pound reflects the historical conflation of mass and weight. These units are historic and are no longer used (replaced by the metric system). The English word pound is cognate with, among others, German Pfund, Dutch pond, and Swedish pund.

The unit is descended from the Roman libra (hence the abbreviation 'lb'). The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb an alternative symbol is lb m (for most pound definitions), # ( chiefly in the U.S.), and ℔ or ″̶ (specifically for the apothecaries' pound). Various definitions have been used the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly 0.453 592 37 kilograms, and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. Used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass For other uses, see LB and LBS.īritish imperial, United States customary

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