avoirdupois
/ˌævɚdəˈpɔɪz/noun
avoirdupois is spelled A-V-O-I-R-D-U-P-O-I-S: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 146,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, avoirdupois means “The official system of weights used in the UK between 1856 and 1963. It had been the customary system in London since 1300” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of avoirdupois is avoirdupoises.
How many letters and syllables are in avoirdupois?
| Letters | 11: A-V-O-I-R-D-U-P-O-I-S |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 146,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is avoirdupois?
Avoirdupois appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 146,811th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce avoirdupois?
- UK /ˌævədəˈpɔɪz/
- UK /ˌævwɑːdjuːˈpwɑː/
- US /ˌævɚdəˈpɔɪz/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-avoirdupois.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of avoirdupois
- avoirdupoises plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does avoirdupois mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The official system of weights used in the UK between 1856 and 1963. It had been the customary system in London since 1300.
- 2
The official system of weights used in the USA between 1866 and 1959.
- 3
Weight; heaviness.
- 4
obsoleteMerchandise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate avoirdupois?
Wiktionary records 4 abbreviations of avoirdupois: av, avdp, avdp., avoird..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does avoirdupois come from?
From Middle English avoir de pois, aver de peis, haburdy poyse, haburdepays, haburdepeyse, from Old French aveir + de + peis (“asset of weight”), influenced by Middle French avoir + du + pois; compare French poids (“weight”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).