Vocabulary - Today's Word "avoirdupois"

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Today's Word "avoirdupois"

avoirdupois \av-uhr-duh-POIZ; AV-uhr-duh-poiz\ (noun) - 1 : Avoirdupois weight, a system of weights based on a pound containing 16 ounces or 7,000 grains (453.59 grams). 2 : Weight; heaviness; as, a person of much avoirdupois.

"The Yemeni eased his avoirdupois upon the leather chair at his desk, cracked his knuckles, and typed in a rapid sequence -- a password, no doubt." -- Robert Ludlum, 'The Bancroft Strategy'

Avoirdupois is from Middle English avoir de pois, "goods sold by weight," from Old French aveir de peis, literally "goods of weight," from aveir, "property, goods" (from aveir, "to have," from Latin habere, "to have, to hold, to possess property") + de, "from" (from the Latin) + peis, "weight," from Latin pensum, "weight."

This news arrived on: 06/09/2008

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