arroba

American  

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

noun

• arrobas
  plural

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).

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arrobas
  plural

---

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”; see quintal

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arroba arrobas

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 Isaac Goldberg

Generally seven reals, or 3s. 6d. per arroba of 25 lbs. is the price.

From Anahuac : or, Mexico and the Mexicans, Ancient and Modern by Edward Burnett Tylor

An arroba of 25 Spanish pounds = 11.49 kilogrammes.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 3 by Alexander von Humboldt

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

Pico is equivalent to one quintal, but has one arroba more than ours.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55 1620-1621 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 James Alexander Robertson

"They won't weigh twenty-six arrobas," said the critic.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

In 1827, the gross produce of Cuba amounted to 23,806 arrobas, and the exports to 19,053.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

The crop of 1851 was estimated at twenty-one and a-half million arrobas, equal to about 335,937 West India hhds.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

Each peon or laborer, going into the woods for six months, can procure eight arrobas, or 200 lbs. of yerba a day.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

In the year 1770 there were exported to Vera Cruz more than five arrobas of wax.

From The History of Cuba, vol. 2 by Willis Fletcher Johnson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---