ounce

ounce
\ \ English has two separate words ounce.
\ \ The ‘measure of weight’ [14] is etymologically the same word as inch. It comes from the same ultimate source, Latin uncia ‘twelfth part’, but whereas inch reached English via prehistoric Germanic, ounce’s route was through Old French unce. Its original use was in the Troy system of weights, where it still denotes ‘one twelfth of a pound’, but in the avoirdupois system it came to be applied to ‘one sixteenth of a pound’. Its abbreviation, oz [16], comes from Italian onza. Ounce [13] ‘big cat’ comes from the same source as lynx (and indeed it originally meant ‘lynx’; ‘snow leopard’ is an 18th-century reapplication of the name). It represents an alteration of Old French lonce, based on the misapprehension that the initial l represented the definite article. This in turn came via Vulgar Latin *luncia from Latin lynx, source of English lynx.
\ \ Cf.⇒ INCH, ONE; LIGHT, LYNX

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • ounce — S3 [auns] n written abbreviation oz [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: unce, from Latin uncia twelfth part, ounce ] 1.) a unit for measuring weight, equal to 28.35 grams. There are 16 ounces in a pound. →↑fluid ounce 2.) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Ounce — (ouns), n. [F. once, fr. L. uncia a twelfth, the twelfth part of a pound or of a foot: cf. Gr. o gkos bulk, mass, atom. Cf. 2d {Inch}, {Oke}.] 1. A weight, the sixteenth part of a pound avoirdupois, and containing 28.35 grams or 4371/2 grains.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ounce — 〈[ aʊns] f.; , s [ aʊnsız]; 〉 in den USA u. Großbritannien übliche Gewichtseinheit, 1 oz = 28,35 g * * * Ounce   [aʊns, englisch] die, / s, deutsch Unze, Einheitenzeichen oz, ältere Masseneinheit in Großbritannien und in den USA: im …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Ounce — Ounce, n. [F. once; cf. It. lonza, Sp. onza; prob. for lonce, taken as l once, fr. L. lynx, Gr. ?, or an (assumed) fem. adj. lyncea, from lynx. Cf. {Lynx}.] (Zo[ o]l.) A feline quadruped ({Felis irbis} syn. {Felis uncia}) resembling the leopard… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ounce — ● ounce nom féminin (anglais ounce, du français once) Unité anglaise de masse (symbole oz), dans le système des mesures avoirdupois, égale à 1°16 de pound (environ 28,35 g). ounce [uns] n. f. ÉTYM. XXe; mot angl., du franç. once. → 1. Once. ❖ ♦… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • ounce — [aʊns] written abbreviation oz. noun [countable] a measurement of weight equal to 28.35 grams * * * ounce UK US /aʊns/ noun [C] (WRITTEN ABBREVIATION oz) ► [C] MEASURES a unit of weight equal to 28.35 grams: » …   Financial and business terms

  • ounce — ounce1 [ouns] n. [OFr unce < L uncia, a twelfth, twelfth part of a foot or pound, orig., unit, akin to L unus,ONE] 1. a) a unit of weight, equal to 1/ 16 pound avoirdupois or 16 drams (28.3495 grams) b) a unit of weight, equal to 1/ 12 pound… …   English World dictionary

  • Ounce — Ounce, im englischen Gewichtssystem = 1/16 Pound avoirdupois (Handelspfund) = 16 Drams oder 28,35 g. Ferner 1 Ounce = 1/12 Imperial Troy Pound = 20 Penny Weight oder 31,1035 g …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Ounce — [auns] die; , s [ aunsiz] <aus gleichbed. engl. ounce, dies über altfr. unce aus lat. uncia »Unze«> engl. Gewichtseinheit (28,35 g); Abk.: oz …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • Ounce — (engl., spr. Auns; d.i. Unze), Gewicht 1) in England a) als Handelsgewicht der 16. Theil eines Pfundes (Avoir dupois), also 1 O. = 28,3 Grammes = 1,69 deutsches Zollloth; getheilt in[527] 16 Drams (Drachmen); b) als Apotheker , Münz , Golo u.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Ounce — (spr. aunß, »Unze«), engl. Gewicht: im Probiergewicht für Silber 1/12 des Pfundes = 20 Pennyweights; im Feingewicht ebenso (abgekürzt oz.) = 480 Grains Troy = 31,1035 g; im Arzneigewicht zu 8 Drams bis August 1878 die Troyunze, aber gewöhnlich… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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