apothecaries' weight
- noun
- /əˈpɑːθɪˌkɛriz weɪt/
- Archaic
:
peso de apotecario
- In the apothecaries' weight system, an ounce equals 480 grains.
Examples
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Pharmacists once used the apothecaries' weight system to measure out medicines precisely.
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The recipe called for one ounce of an ingredient, referring specifically to apothecaries' weight.
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Modern pharmacies no longer use apothecaries' weight for compounding drugs.
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The apothecaries' weight system was widely used in the past.
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Pharmacists once relied on apothecaries' weight to ensure accurate dosing of medications.
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In traditional medicine, apothecaries' weight was essential for measuring herbs and compounds.
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The historical apothecaries' weight system defined an ounce as 480 grains for precise formulations.
Synonyms
A way of measuring gold, silver, and gems using a pound of 12 ounces
Surface Forms
Morphology
apothecaries' + weight
The phrase is transparently composed from 'apothecaries'' (the possessive of 'apothecary', i.e. a pharmacist) + 'weight', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to the weights used by apothecaries — in other words a (historical) system of weights. Although the term is somewhat archaic and domain-specific, its basic meaning is directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Apothecaries' weight comes from old pharmacy shops where the apothecary was an old 'pharmacist' who used small metal weights on a scale to measure powders and liquids exactly. So the phrase refers to the old system of 'weights' and measures used to make medicines.
