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by Astaroth on January 1st, 2005

Astaroth

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Why is the weight measure "pound" abbreviated "lb"?

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  • by Alatea on August 16th, 2005

    Alatea

    The Latin words libra pondo describe a Roman unit of weight similar to a pound.

    The abbreviation "lb" for a unit of weight is derived from the Latin word libra.

    The word "pound" itself comes from the Latin pendere, to weigh, while libra meant “scales and balances”

    “lb” is singular (one pound) and “lbs” is plural as in pounds of weight.

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  • by Alatea on November 22nd, 2005

    Alatea

    A pound is always written as "lb" to prevent confusion with pound (money) It is very old, traced back to the Roman "libra" (which explains its abreviation!). It was defined in England since Ethelred the Unready (968-1016). In fact, a pound (money) was originally a pound (weight) of silver, and the symbol for pound (money) is a stylised L.

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  • by Encyclopedia_John on January 3rd, 2005

    Encyclopedia_John

    The Romans had a unit of weight called the "Libra" which was equal to about 3/4 of a modern pound, or 12 ounces. The first Britsh "pound" was equal to the Libra, hence the abbreviation Lb.

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  • by RedJohn on September 25th, 2005

    RedJohn

    Strictly speaking, the use of 'lbs' as a contraction for pounds is incorrect. The correct term is 'lb' and it is applied whether one measures 0, 23, or -92 pounds.

    This is true of any term, for example: 'ft' (foot, feet), 'kg' (kilogram, kilograms), and 'N' (newton, newtons). At the very least, this avoids confusion with the symbol for seconds, 's'. The term 'ms^-2' means 'metres per second sqared', not 'one over metres (plural) squared'.

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  • by 123456789l on May 4th, 2010

    123456789l

    lb is an abbreviation from a latin word libra which means "pound weight"

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  • by Desiree on January 27th, 2010

    Desiree

    Just go to google and search l.b. if it dosnt work try dictionary.com and look it up it should tell you why its abbreviated l.b.

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