"pound (unit of weight)" in seven languages
Meaningpound (unit of weight)
Spanish
/ˈlibɾa/
fem.learned
Also the currency: la libra esterlina.
French
/livʁ/
fem.inherited
La livre (pound) is feminine; le livre (book) is masculine and comes from LIBRUM.
Italian
/ˈlibbra/
fem.inherited
The currency is la sterlina.
Portuguese
/ˈlibɾɐ/
fem.learned
Also the currency: a libra esterlina.
Romanian
/ˈlivrə/
fem.borrowed · Modern Greek lívra and Italian libbra
The currency is lira sterlină.
Catalan
/ˈʎiwɾə/
fem.inherited
Catalan turns initial L- into ll- [ʎ]: LĪBRAM → lliura.
English
/paʊnd/
other source · Old English pund, from Latin PONDŌ 'by weight'
The Latin ancestor
LĪBRAM‘a pair of scales; a pound’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The Romance words come from LĪBRA 'scales', which is why the English abbreviation is lb and the sign £. English pound itself is an early loan of PONDŌ 'by weight', the root of ponderous.
English relatives: lb, Libra, equilibrium, deliberate
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In a sentence
- esUna libra son unos 450 gramos.
- frUne livre fait environ 450 grammes.
- itUna libbra è circa 450 grammi.
- ptUma libra são cerca de 450 gramas.
- roO livră are cam 450 de grame.
- caUna lliura són uns 450 grams.
- enA pound is about 450 grams.