HUNDREDWEIGHT

hundredweight, cwt, long hundredweight

(noun) a British unit of weight equivalent to 112 pounds

hundredweight, cwt, short hundredweight, centner, cental, quintal

(noun) a United States unit of weight equivalent to 100 pounds

hundredweight, metric hundredweight, doppelzentner, centner

(noun) a unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

hundredweight (plural hundredweight or hundredweights)

(North America) A measure of weight containing 100 avoirdupois pounds (45.5 kg).

Synonyms: cental (historical), centner (rare), short hundredweight, quintal (historical)

(UK) A measure of weight containing 8 stone or 112 avoirdupois pounds (51 kg).

Synonyms: long hundredweight, imperial hundredweight

Usage notes

• The short hundredweight is commonly used in the US in the sale of livestock and some cereal grains and oilseeds, paper, and concrete additives and on some commodities in futures exchanges. Since increasing metrication in most English-speaking countries the long hundredweight is now less used.

• The older designation and measure of weight quintal (“hundredweight”) is not standardized; see the usage notes there for more information.

Source: Wiktionary

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Hun"dred*weight`, n.

Definition: A denomination of weight, containing 100, 112, or 120 pounds avoirdupois, according to differing laws or customs. By the legal standard of England it is 112 pounds. In most of the United States, both in practice and by law, it is 100 pounds avoirdupois, the corresponding ton of 2,000 pounds, sometimes called the short ton, beingthe legal ton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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