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Glite Dictionary
⚖️ A small weight 💧 A small amount 🪙 Greek coin
drachm

drachm

9.9
A small weight used long ago in medicine and cooking
  • noun
  • /drækm/
  • Archaic
translation icon : dracma
  • The apothecary prescribed two drachms of the powdered herb for each dose.

Examples

  • Old recipes sometimes call for a drachm of spice in their ingredient lists.

  • One drachm is enough.

  • A gold coin weighing a drachm was once standard in ancient Greece.

  • I found a drachm in my pocket.

  • A gold coin weighing a drachm was once standard in ancient Greece.

  • Old recipes sometimes call for a drachm of spice in their ingredient lists.

  • The apothecary prescribed two drachms of the powdered herb for each dose.

Synonyms

drachma
vsdrachm
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small old medicine weight equal to about 3.89 grams

is the general small apothecary or ancient Greek weight without that exact fraction
dram
vsdrachm
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small old unit of weight about one sixteenth of an ounce

is the apothecary or Greek small weight and is a different fixed size

Surface Forms

drachm singular
drachms plural

Etymology

Drachm comes from the Greek word drachmē, which meant 'a handful' and is linked to a word for 'to grasp'. You can still see the same idea in the word dram, which also means a small amount, so a drachm is a small unit of weight you could hold in your hand.