Ounce
/aʊns/noun
A unit of weight equal to one-sixteenth of a pound, or a small amount of something.
Did you know?The English word ultimately comes from Latin *uncia*, “a twelfth part,” and is the same root behind *inch* and *union*, because Roman measurement was built from dividing whole things into sacred fractions.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₁eḱs
“A base for “one”/“single,” later feeding the Roman system of fractional units through Latin forms.”
Classical Latin
Latin
uncia
“A twelfth part; specifically a twelfth of an *as* in Roman measurement and currency.”
Late Latin
Latin
uncia
“A small unit of weight or measure, especially one-twelfth of a larger whole.”
Old French
Old French
once
“An ounce, a small weight.”
Middle English
English
ounce
“A unit of weight; later also a small quantity.”