avoirdupois
[ av-er-duh-poiz ]
/ ˌæv ər dəˈpɔɪz /
noun
Informal. bodily weight: He carries around a lot of excess avoirdupois.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- avoidance,
- avoidance play,
- avoidant,
- avoidant personality,
- avoir.,
- avoirdupois weight,
- avoirdupois weights,
- avon,
- avon lake,
- avouch
Origin of avoirdupois
1250–1300; Middle English avoir de pois literally, property of weight < Old French, equivalent to avoir (earlier aveir < Latin habēre to have) + de (< Latin dē) + pois (earlier peis < Latin pēnsum)
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for avoirdupois
avoirdupois
avoirdupois weight
/ (ˌævədəˈpɔɪz, ˌævwɑːdjuːˈpwɑː) /
noun
a system of weights used in many English-speaking countries. It is based on the pound, which contains 16 ounces or 7000 grains. 100 pounds (US) or 112 pounds (Brit) is equal to 1 hundredweight and 20 hundredweights equals 1 tonAbbreviation: avdp, avoir
Word Origin for avoirdupois
C14: from Old French aver de peis goods of weight
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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avoirdupois
1650s, misspelling of Middle English avoir-de-peise (c.1300), from Old French avoir de pois "goods of weight," from aveir "property, goods" (noun use of aveir "have") + peis "weight," from Latin pensum, neuter of pendere "to weigh" (see pendant (n.)). After late 15c., the standard system of weights used in England for all goods except precious metals, precious stones, and medicine.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
avoirdupois
[ ăv′ər-də-poiz′ ]
n.
Avoirdupois weight.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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