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Glossary: Home Tables A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T Th U V W X Y Z

water *
A relation between weight and volume (or capacity), by way of a standard water. One defines capacity by water-weight, or derives a weight from a volume, as in the prototype metric system.
      See the density table.
      The smallest measure of water is six molecules, which occupies a volume, at normal conditions, of approximately 180 cubic angstrongs.
week *
A unit of time, the purpose of which is to allocate particular functions to particular days (eg market-day, church-day, zB).
      The Roman week was tied to the month, being a count of days to a named quarter month: eg II ides march = two days before the ides of march. Because the months were unequal, so were the weeks.
      Modern weeks are centred around the planetary gods, or simply just a long count of days. Since a long-count of days (eg 1-day, 2-day &c) is not really interesting, i shall look at the seven-day week, and how it could be made to accomidate a ten-planet-system (and hence a ten day week).
      The ancient egyptians had a ten-day week hight decan.
planet Moon Mercury Venus Sun Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Nept Pluto
row 1 Mon - - Sun - - Sat - - Plu
row 2 - Woden - - Tiw - - Ura - -
row 3 - - Fri - - Thur - - Nept -
This gives a seven or ten day week, as Sun, Mon, Ura, Tue, Wed, Nept, Thur, ri, Plu, Sat.
      Most of the present expressions, such as Monday to friday, week-end, etc would have pretty much the same meaning in both week-systems.
Weight *
The word derives from to swing. Weighing is the swinging of weights off a balance, etc.
      The modern distinction between force-of-weight and mass-of-weight comes from the recently-discovered equation F=mg. That latin-words are used to describe an essentially germanic root is a give-away here.
      A more useful distinction is to be made between fineweights and course-weights. That the kilogram has a prefix-name, rather than a base-name, can be seen from the protometric system, where the application of metric to the coarse-weights came after this distinction was abandoned.
Weight (number) *
From Roman times, a number of weight has always being a measure of pounds, being for example, millier or thousandweight, canter, center, hundredweight, and so forth. See also roman fractions.
      In metrics, the Kilogram replaces the pound, so one has a millier as a name for the metric ton.
wey *
A weight for Cheese, eg in Essex, 300 l., at the rate of five score and xii to the hundred, which is 336 li.
wheat *
Wheat is sometimes used in place of water, to define dry capacity from weight.
      The density is typically somewhere between 15 and 16, where 20 makes water.
      See also bushel.
Winchester Wine Gallon *
A unit created by changes of definition. It is the same gallon as the US gallon, but because of the change of definition in the IWMA of 1824, and subsequent recalibration of the gallon, has come to mean different things.
      The winchester wine gallon is supposed to implement the magna carta gallon as eight tower pounds of wheat, these becoming 43200 gt, or 6.171 avoirdepoise pounds.
Guildhall 224.000 000 The Guild hall is said to have a gallon of this size
Berriman 230.400 000 Berriman suggests original is 10 troy lb as 250 gr/in³.
Prototype 230.928 The 1707 protypype as measured in 1931-32. [UB]
as described     230.90706 A cylinder, 7 inches diam, 6 inches high
common law 231.000000     Rounded to the nearest inch, legal in 1707
Act of 1824 230.99697 0.8331 gallons G1 of 277.274 cu in
BIPM 1897 231.1184 0.8331 gallons G2 of 277.420 cu in
Wine Measures *

This table shows selected units and their size in quarts (eg litres), and gallons.
1280 288 336 - Stuch
960 216 252 tun fuder
480 108 126 pipe butt
320 72 84 puncheon (tertion)
240 54 63 hogshead oxhoft
160 36 42 tierce ohm, aum
120 27 31.5 barrel -
80 18 21 kilderkin eimer
40 9 firkin anker
4 [1] gallon stubchen
2 [1/2] pottle kanne
1 [1/4] quart stof
3/4 [1/6] bottle -
1/2 [1/8] pint nossel

This is the table of wine gallons, by increasing size, showing the division into bottles.
42-inch cylinder 58188.58 1260 of 46.181
252 wine gallons 58212.00 1260 of 46.200
216 Tiof gallons 58222.84 1296 of 44.916
210 UK gallons 58258.20 1260 of 46.236
216 US gallon 270 58320.00 1296 of 45.000
960 litres 5852.794 1260 of 45.767


© 2003-2004 Wendy Krieger