pounds

Variant of pound

pound definition

pound (po̵und)

noun pl. pounds, pound

    1. the basic unit of weight in the FPS system, equal to l6 ounces avoirdupois (453.59237 grams)
    2. a unit of weight equal to 12 ounces troy or 12 ounces apothecaries' (373.2418 grams)
  2. 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
  3. any of the basic monetary units of various countries, as Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria
  4. a former Scottish monetary unit (pound Scots), originally equal to the British pound
  5. 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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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