[Sca-cooks] Units of measure - stupid question

[Daniel Myers]

On Tuesday, November 26, 2002, at 10:16 PM, Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:

> On 26 Nov 2002, at 21:35, Daniel Myers wrote:
>
>> Ok, I've been looking at measuring units and something has started to
>> bother me...
>>
>> Can anyone tell me why our unit of weight (avoirdupois) translates
>> from
>> French to something like "to have some peas"?
>
> It doesn't.  From Dictionary.com:
> Avoirdupois is from Middle English avoir de pois, goods sold by
> weight, from Old French aveir de peis, literally, goods of weight, from
> aveir, property, goods (from aveir, to have, from Latin habere, to
> have, to hold, to possess property) + de, from (from the Latin) + peis,
> weight (from Latin pensum, weight).


Ah!  I feel better now, thank you.  It's because the origin was Latin
and was filtered through French, and the phrase is "to have weight".

I just kept imagining some Frenchman selling spices by the ounce, and
repeatedly commenting about having peas - got to be very Pythonesque
after a bit.

We now return you to your regular program of dance music.

- Doc


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  Edouard Who Is Not Lainie's Edouard (Daniel Myers)
  http://www.medievalcookery.com/
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