[bksvol-discuss] Re: lb for pound
- From: "Pratik Patel" <pratikp1@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2005 07:03:07 -0400
Cindy's explanation is correct. The word has a latin derivative.
Pratik
Pratik Patel
Interim Director
Office of Special Services
Queens College
Director
CUNY Assistive Technology Services
The City University of New York
ppatel@xxxxxx
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of talmage@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 11:36 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: lb for pound
Thanks Cindy. I hoped someone would come up with an answer, and I was
basically just too lazy to look.
Dave
At 10:35 PM 4/1/2005, you wrote:
>Dave,
>
>I haven't finished reading all 113 pieces of e-mail (I
>was gone most of the day -- and so I've been attacked
>by the April Fool) so I don't know if anyone else has
>answered your question. I never thought about it
>before, but it's a good question -- and once I hear
>something like that I become obssessed with finding
>the answer.
>
>Thanks to google, (my eytymological dictionary didn't
>help) here's the explanation.
>
> "Why are pounds, when used as a weight, abbreviated
>lbs?"
>
>The origin is in the Latin word libra, which could
>mean both balance scales (hence the symbol for the
>astrological sign Libra, which was named after a
>constellation that was thought to resemble scales) and
>also a pound weight, for which the full expression was
>libra pondo, the second word being the origin of our
>pound.
>
>Guido, did you or Alyosius know that? Maybe I needn't
>have looked it up (smile).
>
>Cindy
>
>
>
>
>
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