picul
9.9
A unit of weight used in parts of Asia equal to about 133 pounds or 60 kilograms
- noun
- Archaic
:
picul
- In Southeast Asia, rice is commonly sold in piculs, with one picul weighing approximately 133 pounds.
Examples
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The trader purchased 20 piculs of rice for export to Europe.
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A typical picul of spices was a mainstay cargo on colonial merchant ships.
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In the 19th century, tea was often shipped in large picul quantities from China.
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The rice was sold by the picul.
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One picul of sugar costs about $50.
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When trading spices, merchants often referred to the weight in piculs, which are about 60.5 kilograms each.
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A farmer calculated that he harvested ten piculs of coconuts this season for the market.
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word picul comes from the Malay word pikul, which means 'to carry on the shoulder'. That's why a picul is a traditional Asian unit meaning the load a person could carry, about 133 pounds (60.5 kilograms).
