arroba

American  

[uh-roh-buh, ahr-raw-bah] / əˈroʊ bə, ɑrˈrɔ βɑ /

noun

plural

arrobas

1. a symbol (@) that is used to link a username to a domain name, used at the beginning of Twitter handles, and in other identifying designations on the internet in Spanish-speaking countries.

2. a Spanish and Portuguese unit of weight of varying value, equal to 25.37 pounds avoirdupois (9.5 kilograms) in Mexico and to 32.38 pounds avoirdupois (12 kilograms) in Brazil.

3. a unit of liquid measure of varying value, used especially in Spain and commonly equal (when used for wine) to 4.26 U.S. gallons (16.1 liters).

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arroba British  

/ əˈrəʊbə /

noun

1. a unit of weight, approximately equal to 11 kilograms, used in some Spanish-speaking countries

2. a unit of weight, approximately equal to 15 kilograms, used in some Portuguese-speaking countries

3. a liquid measure used in some Spanish-speaking countries with different values, but in Spain used as a wine-measure, approximately equal to 16 litres

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Etymology

Origin of arroba

First recorded in 1550–1560; from Spanish, Portuguese, from Arabic al rubʿ “the fourth part, a quarter (of the qintār), from Common Semitic arbaʿ “four”; quintal

Example Sentences

The price in Nauta is two dollars the arroba, and in Europe from forty to sixty dollars.

From Oregon and Eldorado or, Romance of the Rivers by Bulfinch, Thomas

A measure for liquids, the eighth of an arroba, equal to about half a gallon. 

From The Bible in Spain - Vol. 2 [of 2] by Borrow, George Henry

The thread of the same cotton with which they are sewed costs twenty reals per arroba.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 18 of 55 1617-1620 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Robertson, James Alexander

Farm produce is generally sold by the arroba or fanega; the vara is used in lineal measurement, and the cuadra is used by country people in land measurement.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various

The paper that he thus stored up was purchased by the pasteboard factories; they gave him from thirty or forty céntimos per arroba.

From The Quest by Goldberg, Isaac