quintal

[ kwin-tl ]

/ ˈkwɪn tl /

noun

a unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms (220.5 avoirdupois pounds).

Nearby words

Origin of quintal

1425–75; late Middle English < Medieval Latin quintāle < Arabic qinṭār weight of a hundred pounds, probably ≪ Latin centēnārius. Cf. centenary, kantar, kilderkin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quintal

One quintal of steel to make files, punches, and drills, for boring the artillery.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803|E.H. Blair
Quintal was his chum, and they got drunk together all the time.
South Sea Tales|Jack London
These two, Quintal and McCoy, were emphatically the bad men of the party.
The Lonely Island|R.M. Ballantyne
At this Quintal and McCoy both laughed, and said they were jesting.
The Lonely Island|R.M. Ballantyne

His parishioners agreed to give him a quintal per man of winter fish—their best.
Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast|Samuel Adams Drake

British Dictionary definitions for quintal

quintal

/ (ˈkwɪntəl) /

noun

a unit of weight equal to 100 pounds

a unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms

Word Origin for quintal

C15: via Old French from Arabic qintār, possibly from Latin centēnārius consisting of a hundred

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

Word Origin and History for quintal

quintal

"a weight of a hundred pounds," c.1400, from Old French quintal "hundredweight," and directly from Medieval Latin quintale, from Arabic quintar, from Late Greek kentenarion, from Latin centenarius "containing a hundred" (see centenary).