pound
pound (po̵und)
- the basic unit of weight in the FPS system, equal to l6 ounces avoirdupois (453.59237 grams)
- a unit of weight equal to 12 ounces troy or 12 ounces apothecaries' (373.2418 grams)
- the basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom, equal to 100 (new) pennies: before 1971 a pound was equal to 20 shillings or 240 pennies: symbol, £ (see libra, )in full pound sterling
- any of the basic monetary units of various countries, as Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria
- a former Scottish monetary unit (pound Scots), originally equal to the British pound
- Bible mina
Etymology: ME < OE pund, akin to Ger pfund: WGmc loanword < L pondo, a pound, orig. abl. of pondus, weight (in libra pondo, a pound in weight), akin to pendere: see pendant
pound (po̵und)
transitive verb
- to beat to a pulp, powder, etc.; pulverize
- to strike or drive with repeated, heavy blows
- to make by pounding
- to force or impose pound sense into him
Etymology: altered (with unhistoric -d) < ME pownen < OE punian, akin to Du puin, rubbish
intransitive verb
- to deliver repeated, heavy blows (at or on a door, etc.)
- to move with heavy steps or come down heavily while moving
- to beat heavily; throb
noun
- the act of pounding
- a hard blow
- the sound of this; thud; thump
pound out
- to flatten, smooth, etc. by pounding
- to play, as on a piano, with a very heavy touch
- to produce, as on a typewriter, by intense, unremitting effort
pound one's ear
☆pound the pavement
☆pound (po̵und)
noun
- an enclosure, maintained as by a town, for confining stray animals until claimed
- an enclosure for keeping or sheltering animals
- an enclosure for trapping animals
- a place of confinement, as for arrested persons
- an enclosed area for catching or keeping fish, esp. the inner section of a pound net
Etymology: ME poonde < OE pund- (in comp.), akin to pyndan, to shut up
transitive verb
Pound (po̵und)
- Pound, Ezra (Loomis) 1885-1972; U.S. poet, in Italy (1924-45; 1958-72)
- Pound, Roscoe 1870-1964; U.S. educator & legal scholar
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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