avoirdupois
/ˌævərdəˈpɔɪz/
noun
Origin
Old French
aveir de peis — goods of weight
Overview
Meaning Now
- A system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces, used in English-speaking countries for general commerce.
- Informally, personal weight or bodily heaviness.
Literal older meaning
goods of weight
Language path
Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
aveir de peis
Earliest period
14th century
Journey
The avoirdupois system was adopted to facilitate trade in bulk commodities like wool and grain. It replaced the older troy weight system for these purposes because it provided a more practical, larger unit of measurement for heavy goods.
Evolution
- Old French (13th century)
aveir de peis
“goods to be weighed”
Used to distinguish heavy goods from precious metals.
- Anglo-Norman (14th century)
avoir de pois
“merchandise sold by weight”
Transition from general sense to specific system of measure.
- Middle English (15th century)
avoirdupois
“system of weights”
Assimilation of the French phrase into English as a loanword.
Connections
Word parts
avoir
root
goods/wealth
de
other
of
pois
root
weight
Related across languages
French
avoir
to have/wealth
French
poids
weight
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Related to avoirdupois
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.