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picul

[pik-uh l]
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noun
  1. (in China and southeast Asia) a weight equal to 100 catties, or from about 133 to about 143 pounds avoirdupois (60–64 kg).
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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

  • 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 quantity of mother-of-pearl-shell, communibus annis, sold there is two thousand piculs, at six dollars a picul.

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for picul

picul

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

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