picul

American  

[pik-uhl] / ˈpɪk əl /

noun

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

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picul British  

/ ˈpɪkəl /

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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Etymology

Origin of picul

First recorded in 1580–90; from Malay pikull, the term for the maximum load that a man using a shoulder yoke can carry

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

picul

It had been very hard work, he said, but he had persuaded the men to give up their pepper at eleven dollars a picul.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

The captains, he said, were paying ten dollars for a picul of pepper.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

Rice is the only article the Chinese ever offer a bounty for; the price fluctuates according to the seasons, from one and three-quarter dollars to eight dollars per picul.

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 Simmonds, P. L.

In the Chinese markets, a picul of Munang is worth 15 to 25 dollars.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume II (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

Rice of foreign importation is weighed and quoted by the picul of 133⅓ lbs. avoirdupois, subdivided as follows, viz.:—

From The Philippine Islands by Foreman, John