libra

See also: Libra and librá

English

Etymology

From Latin lībra (pound), partially via Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese libra. Doublet of lira, livre, libbre, liter, rottol, and arratel.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈliːbrə/, /ˈlaibrə/
  • (file)

Noun

libra (plural libras or librae) (Roman contexts)

  1. (historical) A Roman unit of mass, usually equivalent to 327 g.
  2. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of mass, usually around 460 g.
  3. (historical) A traditional Portuguese unit of mass, usually equivalent to 345 g and particularly used for trade in medicines.
  4. (historical) Synonym of arratel, a separate Portuguese unit of mass, usually around 460 g.
  5. (historical) Alternative spelling of libbra, a traditional Italian unit of mass.
  6. (historical) Synonym of pound, a notional pound of silver as a money of account, especially in medieval contexts.

Synonyms

  • (Roman unit of mass): Roman pound, pound (Roman contexts)
  • (Spanish unit of mass): Spanish pound, pound (Spanish contexts)
  • (Portuguese unit of mass): Portuguese pound, pound (Portuguese contexts, but more often used for the arratel)

Coordinate terms

  • (Roman unit of mass): uncia (112 libra)
  • (Spanish unit of mass): onza (116 libra), cuarteron (14 libra), marco (11 libra), arroba (25 libras), quintal (100 libras), tonelada (2,000 libras)
  • (Portuguese unit of mass): oitava (usually 172 libra), onça (usually 112 libra), quarta (usually 13 libra), marco (usually 23 libra), arratel (usually 1+13 libras)

References

Anagrams

Czech

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Noun

libra f

  1. pound (unit of measure)
  2. pound (currency)

Declension

Further reading

  • libra in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • libra in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese livra, attested in the 13th-century Cantigas de Santa Maria, from Latin libra (Roman pound). Doublet of lira. In reference to the English unit, a calque of English pound. Cognate with Portuguese and Spanish libra and Catalan lliura.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈliβɾɐ]

Noun

libra f (plural libras)

  1. English or American pound, a unit of mass equivalent to 453.6 g
  2. (historical) Galician pound, a unit of mass equivalent to about 575 g
  3. (historical) libra, Spanish pound, a unit of mass equivalent to about 460 g
  4. British pound, a unit of British currency originally notionally equal to a pound of sterling silver
    Synonym: libra esterlina
  5. (chiefly historical) pound, other similar currencies originally notionally equal to a pound of gold or silver
Coordinate terms
  • (Galician pound): onza (120 libra)
  • (Spanish pound): onza (116 libra)

Noun

libra m or f by sense (plural libras)

  1. Libra (someone with the Libra star sign)

References

  • libra” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
  • libra” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
  • libra” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
  • libra” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
  • libra” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Verb

libra

  1. inflection of librar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈli.bra/
  • Rhymes: -ibra
  • Hyphenation: lì‧bra

Noun

libra f (plural libre)

  1. pound

Latin

Etymology 1

Of uncertain origin. The word's original form was something like Proto-Italic *līðra, *leiðra (pound), surviving also in Ancient Greek λίτρα (lítra), whence English liter.[1]

Weiss derives the term from Proto-Indo-European *leyH- (to pour) suffixed with the instrumental/resultative suffix *-dʰrom, under the assumption that the term originally meant "pouring (of metal)" before evolving to mean a unit of weight.[2] In this case, then cognate with Proto-Slavic *lìti (to pour), Proto-Celtic *liyeti (to flow), Ancient Greek λείβω (leíbō, to pour), Lithuanian líeti (to let flow).

Pronunciation

Noun

lībra f (genitive lībrae); first declension

  1. (historical) libra, Roman pound, a Roman unit of mass, equivalent to about 327 g
  2. scales, a tool used to balance two weights to measure amounts
  3. level, a tool used to check surfaces for horizontal and vertical alignment
  4. (Medieval Latin, New Latin) pound, any of various units of mass derived from or roughly equivalent to the Roman libra
  5. (Medieval Latin, New Latin) pound, any of various currencies derived from the use of pound as a weight in silver
Declension

First-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative lībra lībrae
Genitive lībrae lībrārum
Dative lībrae lībrīs
Accusative lībram lībrās
Ablative lībrā lībrīs
Vocative lībra lībrae
Synonyms
  • (Roman unit of mass): lb.
  • (units of currency): £
Coordinate terms
  • (Roman unit of mass): uncia (112 libra)
  • (English unit of mass): uncia (116 libra)
Descendants

Pronunciation

Verb

lībrā

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of lībrō

References

  1. De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “lībra”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 339
  2. Michael Weiss, "The Etymology of Latin lībra", conference paper presented at the SCS Greek and Latin Linguistics Panel on January 5, 2021

Further reading

  • libra”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • libra”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • libra in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • libra in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) to make extracts from Cicero's writings: aliquid, multa ex Ciceronis libris excerpere (not excerpere librum)
  • libra”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • libra in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
  • libra”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin libra (Roman pound). Doublet of arrátel. In reference to the English unit, a calque of English pound. Cognate with Galician and Spanish libra and Catalan lliura.

Pronunciation

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈli.bɾɐ/
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈli.bɾa/
  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈli.bɾɐ/ [ˈli.βɾɐ]

Noun

libra f (plural libras)

  1. English or American pound, a unit of mass equal to 454 g
  2. pound, British and other currencies derived from the use of a pound as a weight in silver
  3. (historical) libra, Portuguese pound, a traditional unit of mass usually equivalent to 345 g and chiefly used for trade in medicines
  4. (historical) Synonym of arrátel, Portuguese pound, a traditional unit of mass usually equivalent to 460 g

Coordinate terms

  • (English unit of mass): onça (116 libra), tonelada (2,000 or 2,240 libras)
  • (Portuguese unit of mass): oitava (usually 172 libra), onça (usually 112 libra), quarta (usually 13 libra), marco (usually 23 libra), arrátel (1+13 libras)

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈlibɾa/ [ˈli.β̞ɾa]
  • Rhymes: -ibɾa
  • Syllabification: li‧bra

Etymology 1

From Latin libra (Roman pound, scale). Doublet of lira. In reference to the English unit, a calque of English pound. Cognate with Galician and Portuguese libra and Catalan lliura.

Noun

libra f (plural libras)

  1. English or American pound avoirdupois (a unit of mass equivalent to 453.6 g)
  2. (historical) libra, Spanish pound (a traditional unit of mass equivalent to about 460 g)
  3. British pound (the currency of the United Kingdom and its dependencies, originally notionally equivalent to a pound of stirling silver)
    Synonym: libra esterlina
  4. (chiefly historical) pound (various other currencies originally notionally equivalent to a pound of gold or silver)
Coordinate terms

Noun

libra m or f by sense (plural libras)

  1. Libra (someone with the Libra star sign)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

libra

  1. inflection of librar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish libra, from Latin libra.

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈlibɾa/ [ˈlib.ɾɐ]
  • Rhymes: -ibɾa
  • Syllabification: lib‧ra

Noun

libra (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜒᜊ᜔ᜇ)

  1. pound (unit of mass or force/weight)
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