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Avoirdupois

 - 4 dictionary results

av⋅oir⋅du⋅pois

  [av-er-duh-poiz]
Use Avoirdupois in a Sentence
–noun
1. avoirdupois weight.
2. Informal. bodily weight: He carries around a lot of excess avoirdupois.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME avoir de pois lit., property of weight < OF, equiv. to avoir (earlier aveir < L habēre to have) + de (< L dē) + pois (earlier peis < L pēnsum)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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av·oir·du·pois   (āv'ər-də-poiz')   
n.  

  1. Abbr. av. or avdp. Avoirdupois weight.

  2. Informal Weight or heaviness, especially of a person.


[Middle English avoir de pois, commodities sold by weight, alteration of Old French aveir de peis, goods of weight : aveir, avoir, to have (from Latin habēre; see able) + de, of (from Latin dē, from; see de-) + peis, pois, weight (from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, past participle of pendere, to hang; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: av·oir·du·pois
Pronunciation: "av-&rd-&-'poiz, -'pwä
Function: adjective
: expressed in avoirdupois weight<avoirdupois units> <5 ounces avoirdupois> <2 avoirdupois ounces>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

avoirdupois av·oir·du·pois (āv'ər-də-poiz')
n.
Avoirdupois weight.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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