tael

American  

[tayl] / teɪl /

noun

1. liang.

2. any of various similar units of weight in East Asia.

3. a former Chinese money of account, being the value of this weight of standard silver.

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tael British  

/ teɪl /

noun

1. a unit of weight, used in the Far East, having various values between one to two and a half ounces

2. (formerly) a Chinese monetary unit equivalent in value to a tael weight of standard silver

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Etymology

Origin of tael

First recorded in 1580–90; from Portuguese from Malay tahil “liang”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tael

A tael is worth $1.40, so you can see for yourselves what a big sum this is.

From The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 58, December 16, 1897 A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls by Julia Truitt Bishop

The kinds of gold that are found among the natives of the city and vicinity of Manila are: Bizlin, which is worth two pesos a tael.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 03 of 55 1569-1576 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century by Emma Helen Blair

This, the only coin minted by the government, should bear a fixed ratio of 1000 cash to one tael of silver, but in practice there is no such fixed value.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 4 "Carnegie Andrew" to "Casus Belli" by Various

The cash of Tongchuan are very small and inferior, 2000 being equivalent to one tael, whereas in Chaotong, 110 miles away, the cash vary from 1260 to 1640 the tael.

From An Australian in China Being the Narrative of a Quiet Journey Across China to Burma by George Ernest Morrison

The weight of a tael is one and one-eighth ounces.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 — Volume 03 of 55 1569-1576 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century by Emma Helen Blair

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