The unit is descended from the Roman libra hence the abbreviation lb. Libra both singular and plural and abbreviated lb was a standard of weight used by ancient Romans.
Why The Symbol Of Pound Is Lb
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Why is the abbreviation for pounds lb. How did lb get to be the abbreviation for pound. So lb became the shorthand for a pound of weight. So the shorthand libra or lb referred to a pound by weight.
You will also know Libra as. But why is the word pound abbreviated to lbs. Again we go back to Latin and how the Romans said pound.
Given the crucial role of the scales in weight measurement perhaps it is. Weight is measured and expressed in Kilograms as per SI unit system. However the abbreviation lb is derived from the libra part of the word.
The primary meaning of libra was balance or scales as in the astrological sign but it also stood for the ancient Roman unit of measure libra pondo. According to Latin rule lb is a symbol used for both singular and plural abbreviation for pound. Lb is an abbreviation of the Latin word libra.
They said Libra pondo meaning a pound by weight The abbreviation oz for. The libra part of the phrase meant both weight or balance scales. Lbs is an abbreviation for the Latin word for pound libra and this in itself is an abbreviation for libra pondo which means a pound weight.
The earliest known uses of libra or lb for pound in the English language supposedly appear in the 14th century. This is the reason why the metric unit of mass pound is abbreviated in the letters lb. As The Huffington Post has so cleverly pointed out lb is an abbreviation for the Latin word libra which is the seventh sign of the zodiac and is symbolized by scales cue lightbulb moment.
Also the word pound itself is a translation of the Latin term pendere which means to weigh. I just wish to add that Librae is also the reason for the British monetary symbol usually called the Pound sign. Have you ever wondered why pounds is written as lbIs.
The primary meaning of libra was balance or scales as in the astrological sign but it also stood for the ancient Roman unit of measure libra pondo. The Latin usage was shortened to libra which naturally was abbreviated lb We adopted the pound part from pondo yet kept the abbreviation for libra. The word libra referred to the scales or balance in ancient Roman times and was also part of a unit of measurement called libra pondo which translated means pound weight.
There are different definitions for the mass of a pound. The Latin word may encompass the English for pound scales or weights. Lb is an abbreviation of the Latin word libra.
The word pound comes from ancient Roman when the unit of measure was libra pondo which meant a pound by weight The English word pound draw from the pondo part of the phrase according to the BBC. All ultimately derive from a borrowing into Proto-Germanic of the Latin expression lībra pondō the weight measured in libra in which the word pondō is the ablative singular of the Latin noun pondus weight. Well if you know that you very well know that the symbol for pounds is L.
The pondo part of that ancient Roman measurement meanwhile is the origin of the word pound in English. And you guessed it correctly L is for Libra. The English word pound is cognate with among others German Pfund Dutch pond and Swedish pund.
The currency actually shares its distinction with a unit of weight because before the British pound held the same worth as one lb of silver. The letters lbs stand for pound the imperial unit of weight. However other unit is Pound.
The second word of this phrase by the way is the origin of the English pound. The form lb is actually an abbreviation of the Latin word libra which could mean a pound itself a shortened form of the full expression libra pondo pound weight. Libra is also the Latin word for scales hence why the zodiac sign is denoted by the balance scales and scales were an extremely important part of weight measurement since antiquity.
If you look closely you will see that it is actually just an elaborately scripted capital letter L with a horizontal dash to di.
