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avoirdupois

 - 5 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.
Cite This Source Link To avoirdupois
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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Word Origin & History

avoirdupois 
1656, misspelling of M.E. avoir-de-peise (c.1300), from O.Fr. avoir de pois "goods of weight," from aveir "property, goods" (noun use of aveir "have") + peis "weight," from L. pensum, neut. of pendere "to weigh" (see pendant). After 1485, the standard system of weights used in England for all goods except precious metals, precious stones, and medicine.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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