avoirdupois (av"ordupoiz)

[Prop. aver depois, early mod. E. a verde pois, a verd upo is, haverdupois, -poise, pound contains 16 ounces. It was introduced into England from Bayonne about A. D. 1300, and is substantially the Spanish system. In avoirdupois weight 7,000 troy grains (formerly, and now in the United States, approximately, but in Great Britain exactly) make a pound, while in troy weight the pound contains 5,760 grains, the grain being the same in both cases; hence, 175 pounds troy are the standard weight Great Britain, and equal to slenderne and upward curvature of the bill, and by very long legs and webbed toes. In the latter characteristic it differs from most wading birds. Its length is from 15 to 18 inches from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and its coloration is chiefly black and white, the legs being blue. Several species are described. The avoset of Europe is R. avocetta; that of the United States is R. american a, distinguished by the chestnut brown coloration of the head. The former is sometimes called the scooper or scooping avoset. 2. A humming-bird of the genus Avocetta. avouch (a-vouch'), v. [ IMG:content-1462.png:[blocks in formation] Trench , Eng. Past and Present, iii. 119. (N. E. D. ) Left to myself, I must avow , I strove From public shame to screen my secret love. Dryden . =Syn. 3. To affirm, a ert, profe .-5. Admit, Confe , etc. See acknowledge. II. in trans. In law , to justify or maintain an act done, specifically a distre for rent taken in one's own right.