ounce

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a pound
  2. noun a unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound or 16 drams or 28.349 grams
  3. noun large feline of upland central Asia having long thick whitish fur

Etymology

From Middle English ounce, unce, from Middle French once, from Latin uncia (“Roman ounce, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of a, one, inch, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

In classic literature

Synonyms

troy ounce, apothecaries' ounce

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