avoirdupois

(av′ər də po̵iz)

noun

  1. avoirdupois weight
  2. Informal heaviness or weight, esp. of a person

Origin: ME aver de poiz < OFr aveir de peis < aveir, goods (< L habere, to have) + de (< L de), of + peis (< L pensum), weight

See avoirdupois in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. Abbr. av. or avdp. Avoirdupois weight.
  2. Informal Weight or heaviness, especially of a person.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English avoir de pois, commodities sold by weight

Origin: , alteration of Old French aveir de peis, goods of weight

Origin: : aveir, avoir, to have (from Latin habēre; see able)

Origin: + de, of (from Latin , from; see de-)

Origin: + peis, pois, weight (from Vulgar Latin *pēsum, from Latin pēnsum, past participle of pendere, to hang; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots)

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