arroba

[ uh-roh-buh; Spanish and Portuguese ahr-raw-bah ]
/ əˈroʊ bə; Spanish and Portuguese ɑrˈrɔ bɑ /

noun, plural ar·ro·bas [uh-roh-buh z; Spanish and Portuguese ahr-raw-bahs] /əˈroʊ bəz; Spanish and Portuguese ɑrˈrɔ bɑs/.

a Spanish and Portuguese unit of weight of varying value, equal to 25.37 pounds avoirdupois (9.5 kilograms) in Mexico and to 32.38 pounds avoirdupois (12 kilograms) in Brazil.
a unit of liquid measure of varying value, used especially in Spain and commonly equal (when used for wine) to 4.26 U.S. gallons (16.1 liters).

Origin of arroba

1590–1600; < Spanish < Arabic al rubʿ the fourth part, i.e., a quarter of the qintār; see quintal

Words nearby arroba

arriviste, arrivé, arrière-ban, arrière-garde, arrière-pensée, arroba, arrogance, arrogance of power, arrogant, arrogate, arrondissement

Example sentences from the Web for arroba

British Dictionary definitions for arroba

arroba
/ (əˈrəʊbə) /

noun plural -bas

a unit of weight, approximately equal to 11 kilograms, used in some Spanish-speaking countries
a unit of weight, approximately equal to 15 kilograms, used in some Portuguese-speaking countries
a liquid measure used in some Spanish-speaking countries with different values, but in Spain used as a wine-measure, approximately equal to 16 litres

Word Origin for arroba

C16: from Spanish, from Arabic ar-rub` the quarter (of a quintal)