avoirdupois

[ av-er-duh-poiz ]
/ ˌæv ər dəˈpɔɪz /

noun

Informal. bodily weight: He carries around a lot of excess avoirdupois.

Origin of avoirdupois

1250–1300; Middle English avoir de pois literally, property of weight < Old French, equivalent to avoir (earlier aveir < Latin habēre to have) + de (< Latin ) + pois (earlier peis < Latin pēnsum)

Example sentences from the Web for avoirdupois

British Dictionary definitions for avoirdupois

avoirdupois

avoirdupois weight

/ (ˌævədəˈpɔɪz, ˌævwɑːdjuːˈpwɑː) /

noun

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 Abbreviation: avdp, avoir

Word Origin for avoirdupois

C14: from Old French aver de peis goods of weight

Medical definitions for avoirdupois

avoirdupois
[ ăv′ər-də-poiz ]

n.

Avoirdupois weight.