We've come this far with no sign of deviation! 😀
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The pound and the ounce were used in UK shops until 2000.
These are abbreviated to lb and oz respectively.
Have you ever wondered about the origins of these untypical abbreviations?
These are abbreviated to lb and oz respectively.
Have you ever wondered about the origins of these untypical abbreviations?
In colloquial English there is 'trannie' which could mean transformer, transmission or transvestite. 😉
The abbreviation for the British pre-decimal currency pound, shilling, pence makes it obvious: £sd.
They were tripping out of their box when they came up with that system.
No idea.
But "pound" of course reminds me the british currency: Pound, Shilling, Pence...
I've been in London once (some 30 yrs ago) and there were Shillings! 😱
lb seems to be connected to currency it seems...
The pound was divided into twenty shillings or 240 pennies. The shilling was subdivided into twelve (12) pennies. The penny was further sub-divided into two halfpennies or four farthings (quarter pennies). There was also the guinea which was = £1-1s-0d ( £1/1/- ) = one pound and one shilling = 21 shillings. A third of a guinea equalled exactly seven shillings. I'll leave the even more simple other subdivisions like the florin, the crown, the half-crown, the half-sovereign, the half-guinea, the half-groat, the threepenny, the groat and the sixpence away for ease of reading.
Now that is what I call a system. Too bad it was decimalised in 1971 as everyone was handy with it. Those good old days....
Now that is what I call a system. Too bad it was decimalised in 1971 as everyone was handy with it. Those good old days....
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It was done with special cash registers (just checked that). The system may have had to do with The Glorious Revolution of 1688-91 by the dutch when they introduced the till then unknown jenever (gin) in England. I guess one couldn't handle the monetary system when being sober 🙂
The 1688 invasion of Britain that's been erased from history | Daily Mail Online
The 1688 invasion of Britain that's been erased from history | Daily Mail Online
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We "decimalised" in 1971, so more like 50 years ago - time flies when we are having fun
Old coins like the shilling became 5 "new" pence so were still in circulation after that date
Brian
The abbreviation lb and oz have nothing to do with the LSD system!
Hint: Look to Latin and Medieval Italian.
EDIT: I did not read deeply enough into your response. There is a connection with £sd - see my later post!
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Yes, jean-paul, lb is an abbreviation of the Latin word libra. The primary meaning of libra was balance or scales (as in the astrological sign), but it also stood for the ancient Roman unit of measure libra pondo, meaning "a pound by weight."
It was the same here but then only for mass/weight. It was abolished in 1869 but stayed .... called pond and being 500 gram. The ounce was also abolished but also stayed as ons (100 gram).
One definitely needs these in 2021 when buying cheese or meat. Ordering a pond kaas is normal, ordering 2 pond kaas will get one corrected to "oh 1 kilo".
One definitely needs these in 2021 when buying cheese or meat. Ordering a pond kaas is normal, ordering 2 pond kaas will get one corrected to "oh 1 kilo".
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There was also a half farthing and a quarter farthing - I've got the whole lot in a collection (never was a coin collector, just that they issued a set of old coins at the time of decimalisation and I added to it).
So 4,032 quater farthings to 1 guinea.
Charles was partly right about the LSD connection
The libra is also why the symbol for the British pound is £ - an L with a line through it.
The libra is also why the symbol for the British pound is £ - an L with a line through it.
"Ounce" is related to the Latin uncia, but the abbreviation was borrowed from Medieval Italian, where the word was onza.
Somewhere I read that the Guinea had something to do with animal auctions.
So if the hammer price is 100 the buyer pays 100 Guineas, the seller gets 100 Pound and the auctioneer keeps the difference.
How true that is I do not know.
So if the hammer price is 100 the buyer pays 100 Guineas, the seller gets 100 Pound and the auctioneer keeps the difference.
How true that is I do not know.