avoirdupois, avoirdupoise

[Fr. avoir du poids; from O. Fr. avoirs de pois = things that sell by weight, and not by measurement. ( Wedgwood.) Or from Fr. avoir =to have (in Lat. habeo), and Fr. poids = weight, load,..; O. Fr. poix, pois; from Lat. pensum = anything weighed; pensum, sup. of pen do = to weigh. The d of poids was introduced in the French because it was erroneously thought that the word came from Lat. pond us = weight.] [POISE.] The name of a series of weights, that by which groceries and similar commodities are weighed. The pound avoirdupois consists of 7,000 grains troy, and contains sixteen ounces, whilst the pound troy has only twelve. A pound avoirdupois is 453-52 grammes.