Re: [OT] Imperial measures
On Fri, 7 Oct 2011 17:36:27 +1000
Weaver <weaver@riseup.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 7 Oct 2011 08:03:13 +0100
> Terence <terence.john@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On 7 October 2011 00:59, Weaver <weaver@riseup.net> wrote:
> >
> > >> but I'll bet not one in a thousand has ever heard of a gill.
> > >> (BTW, Wiki says to say "jill.") 4 oz. is 1/4 of a US pint.
> > >>
> > >> The Artha thesaurus-cum-dictionary has this to say:
> > >> *****************
> > >> gill ~ noun uncommon
> > >> 1. a British imperial capacity unit (liquid or dry) equal to
> > >> 5 fluid ounces or 142.066 cubic centimeters
> > >> 2. a United States liquid unit equal to 4 fluid ounces
> > >> *****************
> > >> 5 fl.oz. is 1/4 of an Imperial pint.
> > >
> >
> > Ash's Dictionary (1775)
> >
> > "Gill (s. from the barbarous Lat. gilla) A liquid measure containing
> > the fourth part of a pint."
> >
> > I haven't looked up "pint" for fear it might tell me that it is a
> > liquid measure containing four gills!
This http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint seems close enough.
>
> Yes, it's sitting there waiting for you like a reptile in the dark.
> An imperial pint is 600 ml.
Not here at the centre of the old Empire, it isn't, it's 568ml to the
nearest one, four times the gill given above. It wasn't that long ago
that the official unit of spirits as dispensed in English pubs was 1/6
gill.
--
Joe
Reply to: