picul

[pik-uh l]

noun

(in China and southeast Asia) a weight equal to 100 catties, or from about 133 to about 143 pounds avoirdupois (60–64 kg).

Origin of picul

First recorded in 1580–90, picul is from the Malay word pikull the maximum load a man can carry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for picul

Historical Examples of picul

Rice of foreign importation is weighed and quoted by the picul of 133⅓ lbs.
The Philippine Islands
John Foreman
A common estimate of the average number of nuts required for a picul is three hundred.
The Philippines Past and Present (Volume 2 of 2)
Dean Conant Worcester
The quantity of mother-of-pearl-shell, communibus annis, sold there is two thousand piculs, at six dollars a picul.
The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido
Henry Keppel
For instance, if it then cost $12 a picul, $8 will be advanced to the planter on the crops in the ground.
The Philippine Islands
Ramon Reyes Lala
In these cases an industrious workman may obtain as much as one picul in a week.
The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes
Toms de Comyn

British Dictionary definitions for picul

picul

noun

a unit of weight, used in China, Japan, and SE Asia, equal to approximately 60 kilograms or 133 pounds

Word Origin for picul

C16: from Malay pīkul a grown man's load

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012