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View synonyms for

avoirdupois

[ av-er-duh-poiz ]

noun

  1. Informal. body weight:

    He carries around a lot of excess avoirdupois.



avoirdupois

/ ˌævwɑːdjuːˈpwɑː; ˌævədəˈpɔɪz /

noun

  1. a system of weights used in many English-speaking countries. It is based on the pound, which contains 16 ounces or 7000 grains. 100 pounds (US) or 112 pounds (Brit) is equal to 1 hundredweight and 20 hundredweights equals 1 ton Abbreviationavdpavoir
“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of avoirdupois1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English avoir de pois literally, “goods of weight, property of weight,” from Old French aver “goods, property,” equivalent to avoir (earlier aveir, from Latin 󲹲ŧ “to have”) + de “of” (from Latin ŧ ) + pois (earlier peis, from Latin ŧԲܳ “something weighed, weight,” from pendere “to weigh, weigh out”)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of avoirdupois1

C14: from Old French aver de peis goods of weight
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Significantly, the zoo indicated that his increases in avoirdupois do not stem from any sedentary life of lolling about the den, sampling sweet potato, bamboo and biscuits.

From

By contrast, their descendants today fret about advancing avoirdupois, a real estate bubble and the high cost of space-age diagnostic scans.

From

Insofar as the notion of the American avoirdupois pound has any official meaning, it is by relation to the kilogram, of which, by law, it is 0.45359237.

From

McCormick was a member of the Jolly Fat Men’s Club, a fraternal group that celebrated avoirdupois.

From

In recent decades a number of institutions have taken up the challenge of bringing before the public works whose sheer avoirdupois makes them unsuitable even for museums and galleries.

From

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