livre
9.9
A French unit of weight similar to a pound used before the metric system
- noun
- /liːvʌr/
- Archaic
:
libra
- During the Middle Ages, the livre was commonly used to measure goods by weight, equivalent to about one pound.
Examples
-
The author notes that "the vine that could not succeed in the Antilles yields grapes here that weigh up to 15 livres."
Academic text (2004) -
In French markets, a typical price for an item might have been listed as ten livres.
-
- Half a livre?
-
Fifty-six livres to save an entire family from ruin.
-
The weight of the cheese was calculated using the livre, ensuring it met the seller's standards.
Synonyms
131
1.0
A weight equal to 16 ounces, often called a pound and used in the US and UK
is an older variable French measure used before modern standardized weights
9.9
A weight used in ancient Rome about the same as a pound
is a later French weight unit used before the metric system
Surface Forms
Etymology
Livre comes from the Latin libra, which meant 'scales' or 'balance' and was used as a weight similar to the English 'pound'. So a livre was originally a measure of weight before the metric system.