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Definition: Pound |
PoundNoun1. 16 ounces; "he tried to lift 100 pounds". 2. The basic unit of money in Great Britain; equal to 100 pence. 3. The basic unit of money in Syria; equal to 100 piasters. 4. The basic unit of money in the Sudan; equal to 100 piasters. 5. The basic unit of money in Lebanon; equal to 100 piasters. 6. The basic unit of money in Ireland; equal to 100 pence. 7. The basic unit of money in Egypt; equal to 100 piasters. 8. The basic unit of money in Cyprus; equal to 100 cents. 9. A nontechnical unit of force equal to the mass of 1 pound with an acceleration of free fall equal to 32 feet/sec/sec. 10. : United States writer who lived in Europe; strongly influenced the development of modern literature (1885-1972). 11. : a public enclosure for stray or unlicensed dogs; "unlicensed dogs will be taken to the pound". 12. : the act of pounding (delivering repeated heavy blows); "the sudden hammer of fists caught him off guard"; "the pounding of feet on the hallway". Verb1. Hit hard with the had, fist, or some heavy instrument; "the salesman pounded the door knocker"; "a bible-thumping Southern Baptist". 2. Strike or drive against with a heavy impact; "ram the gate with a sledgehammer"; "pound on the door". 3. Move heavily or clumsily; "The heavy man lumbered across the room. 4. Move rhythmically; "Her heart was beating fast". 5. Partition off into compartments: "The locks pound the water of the canal". 6. Shut up or confine in any enclosure or within any bounds or limits; "The prisoners are safely pounded". 7. Place or shut up in a pound; "pound the cows so they don't stray". 8. Break down and crush by beating, as with a pestle; "pound the roots with a heavy flat stone". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "pound" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | Pound hash. Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. |
Aerospace | 1. A unit of mass equal in the United States to 0.45359237 kilogram, exactly. 2. Specifically, a unit of measurement of the thrust or force of a reaction engine representing the weight the engine can move, as an engine with 100,000 pounds of thrust. See poundal, pound mass.3. The force exerted on 1 pound mass by the standard acceleration of gravity. See gravity, sense 2.Abbreviation lb. (references) |
Bible | Pound (1.) A weight. Heb. maneh, equal to 100 shekels (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:71, 72). Gr. litra, equal to about 12 oz. avoirdupois (John 12:3; 19:39). (2.) A sum of money; the Gr. mna or mina (Luke 19:13, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25). It was equal to 100 drachmas, and was of the value of about $3, 6s. 8d. of our money. (See MONEY.). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Food & Agriculture | A small enclosure for handling livestock. Source: European Union. (references) |
Literature | Pound The unit of weight (Latin, pondus, weight); also cash to the value of twenty shillings sterling, because in the Carlovingian period the Roman pound (twelve ounces) of pure silver was coined into 240 silver pennies. The Symbols and lb. are for libra, the Latin for a pound. (See Penny for Pound.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Meteorology & Standards | GB and USA mass unit = 0, 453 kg. Source: European Union. (references) |
Mining | A. A large, natural fissure or cavity in strata.b. An underground reservoir of water. See also:lodge. (references) |
Slang in 1811 | POUND. To beat. How the milling cove pounded the cull for being nuts on his blowen; how the boxer beat the fellow for taking liberties with his mistress. POUND. A prison. See LOB'S POUND. Pounded; imprisoned. Shut up in the parson's pound; married. POWDER. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (October 30 1885 - November 1 1972) was a poet and critic who, along with T. S. Eliot, was one of the major figures of the modernist movement in early 20th century poetry. He was the driving force behind several modernist movements, notably Imagism and Vorticism. The critic Hugh Kenner said on meeting Pound: "I suddenly knew that I was in the presence of the center of modernism."
Early Life
Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and at Hamilton College. During this period, he met and befriended William Carlos Williams and H.D, with whom he had a relationship. He taught at Wabash College for less than a year, and left as the result of a minor scandal. In 1908, he settled in London, after spending several months in Venice.
The London Revolution
Pound's early poetry was inspired by his reading of the pre-Raphaelites and other 19th century poets and medieval Romance literature, but in London, and under the influence of Ford Madox Ford and T. E. Hulme , he began to cast off overtly archaic poetic language and forms in an attempt to remake himself as a poet. He believed W. B. Yeats was the greatest living poet, and befriended him in England eventually being employed as the Irish poet's secretary. As part of his drive to modernize poetry, he convinced his mentor to adopt a more direct way of writing, helping to bring about Yeats' mature style. His translations of Japanese Noh plays influenced Yeats' writing for the Abbey Theatre. In 1914, he married Dorothy Shakespeare, an artist.
In the years before the First World War, Pound was largely responsible for the appearance of Imagism and Vorticism. These two movements, which helped bring to notice the work of poets and artists like James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, William Carlos Williams, H.D., Richard Aldington, Marianne Moore, Rebecca West and Henri Gaudier Brzeska can be seen as perhaps the central events in the birth of English-language modernism. He also edited his friend Eliot's The Waste Land, the poem that was to force the new poetic sensibility into public attention.
However, the war shattered Pound's belief in modern western civilisation and he abandoned London soon after, but not before he published Homage to Sextus Propertius (1919) and Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (1921). If these poems together form a farewell to Pound's London career, The Cantos, which he began in 1915, pointed his way forward.
Paris
In 1920, Pound moved to Paris where he moved among a circle of artists, musicians and writers who were revolutionising the whole world of modern art. He continued working on The Cantos, which increasingly reflected his preoccupations with politics and economics, as well as writing critical prose, translations and composing two complete operas and several pieces for solo violin. In [1922] he met and became involved with Olga Rudge, a violinist. Together with Dorothy, they formed an uneasy menage a trois which was to last until the end of the poet's life.
Italy
In the early 30s Pound moved to Rapallo, Italy. Here he became an enthusiastic supporter of Mussolini and anti-Semitic sentiments begin to appear in his writings. Pound remained in Italy after the outbreak of the Second World War. He disapproved of American involvement in the war and tried to use his political contacts in Washington D.C to prevent it. He to speak on Italian radio and gave a series of talks on cultural matters. Inevitably, he touched on political matters and his opposition to the war and his anti-Semitism was apparent on occasions.
Towards the end of the war, he was incarcerated in a United States Army detention camp outside Pisa, spending twenty-five days in an open cage before being given a tent. Here he appears to have suffered a nervous breakdown. He also drafted the Pisan Cantos in the camp. This section of the work in progress marks a shift in Pound's work, being a meditation on his own and Europe's ruin and on his place in the natural world in what has been considered as some of the first ecological poetry in English. The Pisan Cantos won the Bollingen-Library of Congress Award in 1948
St Elizabeths
After the war, Pound was brought back to the United States to face charges of treason. He was found unfit to face trial because of insanity and sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where he remained for 12 years. Here he was surrounded by poets and other admirers and continued working on The Cantos as well as translating from the Confucian classics. He was finally released after a concerted campaign by many of his fellow poets and artists.
Italy Again
On his release, Pound returned to Italy where he continued writing, but his old certainties had deserted him. Although he continued working on The Cantos, he seemed to view them as an artistic failure. He also seemed to regret many of his past actions, and in a 1967 interview with Allen Ginsberg he apologised for that stupid, suburban prejudice of anti-Semitism. He died in Venice.
Pound's Importance
Because of his political views, especially his support of Mussolini and his anti-Semitism, Pound continues to attract much valid criticism. Nevertheless, it is impossible to ignore the vital role he played in the modernist revolution in 20th century literature in English. This importance may be considered under four headings: poet, critic, promoter, and translator.
As a poet, Pound was one of the first to successfully employ free verse in extended compositions. His Imagist poems influenced, among others, the Objectivists and The Cantos were a touchstone for Ginsberg and other Beat poets. Almost every 'experimental' poet in English since the early 20th century is in his debt.
As critic, editor and promoter, Pound helped the careers of Yeats, Eliot, Joyce, Williams, H.D., Moore, Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, Louis Zukofsky, Basil Bunting, George Oppen, Charles Olson and other modernist writers too numerous to mention as well as neglected earlier writers like Walter Savage Landor and Gavin Douglas.
As translator, although his mastery of languages is open to question, Pound did much to introduce Provençal and Chinese poetry, the Noh, and the Confucian classics to a modern western audience. He also translated and championed Greek and Latin classics and helped keep these alive for poets at a time when classical education was in decline.
Additional Reading
- Hugh Kenner: The Pound Era
External links
- Pound at Modern American Poetry
- Pound at EPC
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Ezra Pound."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The pound is the name for at least three different unitss of mass: the pound (avoirdupois), the troy pound, and the obsolete imperial pound.
The term pound is also the used for the unit of currency in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Egypt, and, before January 1, 2002, Ireland: see pound (currency). This unit was originally derived from a pound weight of silver.
Origins
The Latin word libra describes a Roman unit of weight similar to a pound, and the abbreviation "lb" for the unit of weight and the sign £ (a crossed-out L) for the currency derived from this. The word "pound" itself comes from the Latin pendere, to weigh.
Measurement systems
In the Imperial system (often referred to as the pound-inch system, or the British system in the U.S.) there are two basic pounds defined, and also an obsolete definition of one variant of the pound:
Pound (avoirdupois) or international pound
The pound (avoirdupois) or international pound, abbreviation 'lb' or sometimes # in the U.S., is the mass unit defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms (or 453.59237 gramss). This definition has been in effect since 1959 in the United States. [1] It is part of the avoirdupois system of mass units.
In the United States, the pound has been officially defined as a unit of mass and defined in relation to the kilogram since 1893, but its value in relation to the kilogram was altered slightly in 1894, and again to its current value in 1959 (which only differs from the 1894 definition by approximately one part in 10 million.)
There are 16 ounces in a pound (avoirdupois). The pound is equal to exactly 7000 grains, where a grain is officially defined as exactly 0.06479891 gram. The legal definition of the pound in the United Kingdom and Canada are the same as in the United States, and were unified to their current value in 1960.
Imperial pound
In the United Kingdom, the pound was similarly defined as a unit of mass by the Weights and Measures Act of 1878, but having a very slightly different value (in relation to the kilogram) than it does now. The 1878 definition in the U.K. defined pound as a mass, but having a very slightly smaller value (equal to approximately 0.453592338 kg) than it does now. This old value is sometimes called the imperial pound, and this definition and terminology are obsolete unless referring to the slightly-different 1878 definition.
Troy pound
A pound (troy) is a unit of mass in the U.S, Canada, and UK. The troy pound is a unit of mass equalling exactly 0.3732417216 kilograms. There are 12 troy ounces in a troy pound. A troy pound is equal to exactly 5760 grains, making 1 troy pound equal to exactly 144/175 pounds. It is part of the troy system of mass units.
They troy pound is used for measurements of precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. Any weight measurements of precious metals always uses troy pounds and ounces, even though you will find that it is not always explicitly stated that this is the case.
One troy pound = 12 troy ounces = 240 pennyweight.
A pennyweight was literally the weight of a penny, as adopted by King Henry II (1100-1135). This was a sterling silver penny weighing 1/240th of a troy pound.
In countries using the metric system
The pound or its translation is used in many countries that use the metric system as an unofficial term for a half kilogram (500 grams).
Which one is meant?
If neither "avoirdupois" nor "troy" is specified, the international pound (avoirdupois) is meant and is by law the only proper definition in the U.S., U.K., and Canada; the troy pound has been officially abandoned in the UK. The valuation of precious metals on U.S. exchanges is specified as dollars per troy ounce, although the fact that the troy ounce is implied is usually not stated clearly.
Pound-force
The pound, a unit of mass, should not be confused with the pound-force, a unit of force or weight.
External links
- History of the pound as a unit of mass: U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Official Definition, showing history
- Official abbreviations and definitions: U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 811
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pound."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
As a unit of currency, the term pound originates from the value of a Troy pound weight of high purity silver, and is or was the currency unit of a number of countries:
- Cyprus
- Egypt
- Gibraltar
- Lebanon
- Malta
- Republic of Ireland - see Irish Punt
- United Kingdom - see Pound Sterling
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pound (currency)."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Pound is a town located in Marinette County, Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1,367.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 130.1 km² (50.2 mi²). 129.3 km² (49.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.60% water.Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,367 people, 499 households, and 387 families residing in the town. The population density is 10.6/km² (27.4/mi²). There are 537 housing units at an average density of 4.2 persons/km² (10.8 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 99.27% White, 0.00% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.29% from two or more races. 0.37% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 499 households out of which 36.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% are married couples living together, 4.8% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 22.4% are non-families. 19.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.74 and the average family size is 3.16. In the town the population is spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 111.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 109.7 males. The median income for a household in the town is $38,750, and the median income for a family is $44,205. Males have a median income of $30,288 versus $21,205 for females. The per capita income for the town is $17,029. 5.8% of the population and 4.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 6.5% are under the age of 18 and 7.8% are 65 or older.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pound (town), Wisconsin."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Pound is a village located in Marinette County, Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 355.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 355 people, 149 households, and 89 families residing in the village. The population density is 167.2/km² (435.4/mi²). There are 174 housing units at an average density of 81.9 persons/km² (213.4 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 99.44% White, 0.00% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 0.00% from two or more races. 0.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 149 households out of which 32.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% are married couples living together, 8.7% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 39.6% are non-families. 30.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.38 and the average family size is 3.11. In the village the population is spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.5 males. The median income for a household in the village is $32,692, and the median income for a family is $40,938. Males have a median income of $27,232 versus $18,438 for females. The per capita income for the village is $16,890. 12.0% of the population and 9.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 19.1% are under the age of 18 and 12.5% are 65 or older.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pound (village), Wisconsin."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
This article is about Sterling or Pound Sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom and its dependencies. For details of notes and coins, see:
- British coinage
- British banknotes
The basic currency unit of Sterling is now the pound - hence Pound Sterling, which strictly speaking refers to the currency unit rather than the currency.
The Standard ISO 4217 currency code is GBP.
Sign: £ (or "L"; both from Latin libra = pound). £1 = 100 pence (p) (singular penny). Pre-1971 £1 = 20 shillings (s.; colloquially "bob"), 1 shilling = 12 pence (d.); hence "Lsd" as shorthand for predecimalisation values. Note that the pre- and - post decimalisation penny had different values (the pound was constant), so the latter were known as "new pence" for their first few years. UKP is a non-standard abbreviation.
In modern times the pound has become the basic unit of currency. Inflation has steadily eroded the value of currency. The basic unit was once the penny. Originally a silver penny of 1.555 grams (1/240 pound troy) had the purchasing power of slightly less than a modern "pound".
In the UK, to distinguish the currency from the weight, and from other currencies, a pound is often referred to as a pound sterling or sometimes just sterling. The sterling was originally an old English silver coin made of sterling silver and weighing 1.555 grams (1/240th of a troy pound).
History
As a unit of currency, the term pound originates from the value of a Troy pound weight of high purity silver known as sterling silver.
Sterling (with a basic currency unit of the Tealby Penny, rather than the pound) was introduced as the English currency by King Henry II in 1158, though the name Sterling wasn't acquired until later.
Sterling unofficially moved to the gold standard from silver in 1717 thanks to Sir Isaac Newton, who was Master of the Royal Mint, and the use of silver declined until the official adoption of the gold standard following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1821. This lasted until Britain, in common with many other countries, abandoned the standard during World War I, in 1919.
A variation on the gold standard was re-introduced in 1926, under which the currency was pegged to the gold price, although people were only able to exchange their currency for gold bullion, rather than for coins. This was abandoned on September 21 1931, and Sterling devalued 20%. In common with all other world currencies, there is no longer any link to precious metals. The US dollar was the last to leave gold, in 1971.
As a member of the European Union, the UK has the option of adopting the euro as its currency. However the subject remains politically controvesial, not least since the UK was forced to withdraw from its precursor, the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) on Black Wednesday (September 16 1992). Black Wednesday saw interest rates from 10% to 12%, and then to 15% in a futile attempt to stop the pound falling below the ERM limits, costing the country tens of billions of pounds.
On the value of British money
In 1999 the House of Commons Library published a research paper (PDF document) which included an index of the value of the Pound for each year between 1750 and 1998, where the value in 1974 was indexed at 100.Reading this document, one is struck by the fact that the value of the Pound remained remarkably constant for the whole of the period until the First World War, allowing for inflationary fluctuations in wartime and with many periods when prices declined. The value of the index in 1750 was 5.0, increasing to a peak of 16.0 in 1813 before declining very soon after the end of the Napoleonic Wars to around 10.0 and remaining in the range 8.5 - 10.0 at the end of the nineteenth century. The index was 9.6 in 1914 and peaked at 24.8 in 1920, before declining again to 15.5 in 1933 and 1934 i.e prices were only about three times higher than they had been 180 years earlier.
Inflation really kicked off during and after the Second World War - the index was 20.0 in 1940, 32.9 in 1950, 46.4 in 1960, 68.2 in 1970, 243.0 in 1980, 458.5 in 1990, and 592.3 in 1998.
See Also
- UK topics
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pound Sterling."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Pound is a town located in Wise County, Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1,089.Geography
Pound is located at 37°7'26" North, 82°36'28" West (37.123820, -82.607859)1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²). 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,089 people, 455 households, and 322 families residing in the town. The population density is 161.1/km² (417.6/mi²). There are 516 housing units at an average density of 76.3/km² (197.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 98.71% White, 0.00% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. 0.18% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 455 households out of which 31.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% are married couples living together, 15.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% are non-families. 25.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 2.88. In the town the population is spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 80.8 males. The median income for a household in the town is $29,107, and the median income for a family is $33,688. Males have a median income of $32,065 versus $22,143 for females. The per capita income for the town is $14,375. 23.0% of the population and 19.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 37.9% are under the age of 18 and 9.8% are 65 or older.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Pound, Virginia."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Sterling is:
- The currency of the United Kingdom, see Pound Sterling.
- A grade of silver; see sterling silver.
- An airline; see Sterling European Airlines.
- A British automobile manufacturer. See Sterling (car).
- The name (or part of the name) of various places
- Sterling in Scotland, see Stirling
- in the United States of America:
- Sterling, Alaska
- Sterling, Colorado
- Sterling, Connecticut
- Sterling, Georgia
- Sterling, Idaho
- Sterling, Illinois
- Sterling, Indiana
- Sterling, Iowa
- Sterling, Kansas
- Sterling, Massachusetts
- Sterling, Michigan
- Sterling, Missouri
- Sterling, Montana
- Sterling, Nebraska
- Sterling, New York
- Sterling, North Carolina
- Sterling, North Dakota
- Sterling, Ohio
- Sterling, Oklahoma
- Sterling, Pennsylvania
- in Clearfield County
- in Wayne County
- Sterling, Texas
- Sterling, Utah
- Sterling, Virginia
- Sterling, Washington
- Sterling, Wisconsin
- in Polk County
- in Vernon County
- Mount Sterling, Kentucky
- Sterling Camp Grounds, Massachusetts
- Sterling Center, Minnesota
- Sterling City, Texas
- Sterling Forest, New York
- Sterling Heights, Indiana
- Sterling Heights, Michigan
- Sterling Junction, Massachusetts
- Sterling Landing, Missouri
- Sterling Park, Tennessee
- Sterling Park, Virginia
- Sterling Place, Colorado
- Sterling Place, Illinois
- Sterling Point, Virginia
- Sterling Run, Pennsylvania
- Sterling Springs, Arkansas
- Sterling Valley, New York
- Sterling Woods, New Jersey
- Sometimes a misspelling of Stirling, see for instance Stirling engine.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sterling."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| C pound | English | Cyprus pound | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: PoundSynonyms: dog pound (n), hammer (n), hammering (n), lb (n), lbf. (n), pound sterling (n), pounding (n), punt (n), quid (n), beat (v), impound (v), lumber (v), poke (v), pound off (v), pound up (v), ram (v), ram down (v), thump (v). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: corralling (food & agriculture). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Caprice | Adjective: capricious; erratic, eccentric, fitful, hysterical; full of whims; Noun: maggoty; inconsistent, fanciful, fantastic, whimsical, crotchety, kinky, particular, humorsome, freakish, skittish, wanton, wayward; contrary; captious; arbitrary; unconformable; penny wise and pound foolish; fickle; (irresolute); frivolous, sleeveless, giddy, volatile. |
Gravity | Weighing, ponderation, trutination; weights; avoirdupois weight, troy weight, apothecaries' weight; grain, scruple, drachma, ounce, pound, lb, arroba, load, stone, hundredweight, cwt, ton, long ton, metric ton, quintal, carat, pennyweight, tod. |
Inclosure | Pen, fold; pen fold, in fold, sheep fold; paddock, pound; corral; yard; net, seine net. |
Indication | Keyboard symbols, printing symbols; red letter, italics, sublineation, underlining, bold font; jotting; note, annotation, reference; blaze, cedilla, guillemets, hachure; quotation marks, double quotes,"", parentheses, brackets, braces, curly brackets, arrows, slashes; left parenthesis, "("; right parenthesis, ")"; opening bracket, ""; left curly brace, "{"; right curly brace, "}"; left arrow, ""; right arrow, ""; forward slash, "/"; backward slash, "\"; exclamation point, "!"; commercial at, "@"; pound sign, "#"; percent sign, "%"; carat, "^"; ampersand, "&"; asterisk, ""; hyphen, "-"; dash, "-", "_"; em dash, "--"; plus sign, "+", equals sign, "="; question mark, "?"; period, "."; semicolon, ";", colon, ":"; comma, ","; apostrophe, "'"; single quote, "'"; tilde, "~". |
Mixture | Verb: mix; join; combine; commix, immix, intermix; mix up with, mingle; commingle, intermingle, bemingle; shuffle; (derange); pound together; hash up, stir up; knead, brew; impregnate with; interlard; (interpolate); intertwine, interweave; associate with; miscegenate. |
Prison | Noun: prison, prison house; jail, gaol, cage, coop, den, cell; stronghold, fortress, keep, donjon, dungeon, Bastille, oubliette, bridewell, house of correction, hulks, tollbooth, panopticon, penitentiary, guardroom, lockup, hold; round house, watch house, station house, sponging house; station; house of detention, black hole, pen, fold, pound; inclosure; isolation (exclusion); penal settlement, penal colony; bilboes, stocks, limbo, quod; calaboose, chauki, choky, thana; workhouse. |
Prodigality | Penny wise and pound foolish. |
Promise | Phrase: in for a penny in for a pound; ex voto; gage d'amour. |
Pulverulence | Reduce to powder, grind to powder; pulverize, comminute, granulate, triturate, levigate; scrape, file, abrade, rub down, grind, grate, rasp, pound, bray, bruise; contuse, contund; beat, crush, cranch, craunch, crunch, scranch, crumble, disintegrate; attenuate . |
Restraint | Ice bound, wind bound, weather bound; "cabined cribbed confined"; in Lob's pound, laid by the heels. |
Unskillfulness | Unadvised; ill-advised, misadvised; ill-devised, ill-imagined, ill-judged, ill-contrived, ill-conducted; unguided, misguided; misconducted, foolish, wild; infelicitous; penny wise and pound foolish; (inconsistent). |
Waste | Wasteful; (prodigal); penny wise and pound foolish. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | You can't forget, it's a sumo culture, Ted. They pay by the pound over there (There's Something About Mary; writing credit: Ed Decter; John J. Strauss) 100 pound is still 100 pound (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; writing credit: Guy Ritchie) As long as people are still having promiscuous sex with many anonymous partners while at the same time experimenting with mind-expanding drugs in a consequence-free environment, I'll be sound as a pound! (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; writing credit: Mike Myers.) I say we call the pound and have her picked up (Filthy Rich; writing credit: Barry E. Blitzer; Linda Bloodworth-Thomason) Crab's arse, my arse, it's two pound fifty phoning next door (The Royle Family; writing credit: Caroline Aherne; Craig Cash) | |
Lyrics | Write it on a pound note pound note (Goody Two Shoes; performing artist: Adam Ant) All i wanna kno is how u pound me down (Life Story; performing artist: Black Rob) Cover much ground, got game by the pound (No Diggity; performing artist: Blackstreet) Running with the pound (Puppy Love; performing artist: Lil Bow Wow) Dogg pound oxes (Can't Nobody; performing artist: Nate Dogg) | |
Clever | Twelve-ounce pound cake (references; author: unknown) 453.6 graham crackers: 1 pound cake. (references; author: unknown) An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance. (references; author: unknown) Patient's medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The 500 Pound Jerk (1973) Pound (1970) The Million Pound Note (1953) Pound Foolish (1940) The Five Pound Man (1937) | |
Song Titles | You Make My Pants Pound (performing artist: Lisa Koch) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Closeup of an osprey nest built amid pound net posts. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Pound net posts are taken over by osprey, who built their home there. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | A 250 kilogram (550 pound) tuna caught up in the nets is recovered by the trap diver and hauled aboard. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Aerial photograph of school of 400-500 pound bluefin tuna off Cat Cay, Bahamas Islands. The reason there are only adult tuna in the photo, is that they have come together for spawning. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | Happy angler standing next to 629 and 1/2 pound marlin at Hawaiian Billfishing Tournament. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Angler standing next to 170 pound Yellowfin tuna caught during Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | Chesapeake dead rise pound net boats tied up along the bgank of a creek. Credit: Fisheries. |  | A 16,000 pound catch of pollock coming aboard the MILLER FREEMAN. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | 14-foot, 1200 pound tiger shark caught in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. Ca. 1966. Credit: Small World. |  | Bringing up 14-foot, 1200 pound tiger shark for weighing. Credit: Small World. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Queen's head" by Simon Cataudo Commentary: "Close up of a five pound note. Taken 9 September 2003." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Play | Caption | Play | Caption |
 | Agitate; alternate; bob; bounce; buffet; flap; flicker; fluctuate; flutter; heave; jerk; jounce; oscillate; palpitate; pitch; pound; pulsate; pulse; quake; quaver; quiver; ripple; shake; shiver; swing; thrill; throb; thump; tremble; twitch; undulate; vibr. | | Hammer; beat; clobber; bang; pound; mallet; bludgeon; bang; bash; thump; thwack. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley | Hard pounding, gentlemen: but we shall see who can pound the longest. |
James A. Garfield | A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck. |
John Wesley | Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge. |
Muhammad Ali | Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up. |
Oliver Wendell Holmes | A page of history is worth a pound of logic. |
Robert Burton | Penny wise, pound foolish. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | 1 pound of powder |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Cent and a half a pound. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Eat as directed. (references) | |
Adding only an extra three pats of butter or margarine (same calories) daily could add an extra pound of weight gain next month. (references) | ||
Be careful to maintain a weight gain of at least 1/2 pound per week, over several weeks, if you are in the second trimester (14 weeks or more of gestation). (references) | ||
Business | Early in its economic reforms, Egypt implemented an unofficial pegged currency system which more or less stabilized the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound to the U.S. dollar. (references) | |
British tourist arrivals to Greece in 1999 totaled 2.4 million, an increase of approximately 29% over 1998. Travel to Greece for U.K. residents remains an inexpensive option given the strength of the pound against the devalued drachma. (references) | ||
In 1999, the U.S. remained the top long-haul destination for U.K. travelers, with 4,252,000 visiting the U.S., a 7% increase over 1998. A strong British Pound over the last few years has made travel to the U.S. more affordable for the average British traveler. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Cyprus | In May 2000, the Turkish Cypriot authorities eliminated the system of fees imposed in 1998 for crossing the buffer zone, although a $1.55 (1 Cyprus pound) processing fee remained in effect. (references) |
Economic History | Egypt | Given the Government's cautious exchange rate policy, it is unlikely that the pound will undergo a major devaluation in the near term, although it may continue the slow trend of depreciation. (references) |
Ireland | Ireland is a full member of the euro-zone and the Irish pound, which will cease to circulate in January 2002, is irrevocably fixed at a rate of Irish pound 1.2697 against the euro (1 euro is worth IP 0.787564). The euro has fallen in value against the dollar and sterling since its launch. (references) | |
Political Economy | UNITED KINGDOM | One reason for this is the weakness of the euro relative to the pound sterling, which has made exports to the EU more expensive. (references) |
UNITED KINGDOM | Since the UK's withdrawal from the European Union's (EU) Exchange Rate Mechanism in January 1993, the pound has floated freely. (references) | |
IRELAND | On January 1, 1999, the Irish pound ceased to exist as Ireland's national currency, and the new single European currency, the euro, became the official unit of exchange. (references) | |
Trade | Egypt | Egypt liberalized foreign exchange rates in 1991. The Egyptian pound exchange rate versus U.S. dollar remained at roughly LE 3.4 per 1 USD from1991 until mid-2000. (references) |
Nicaragua | The amendment to the tax law calls for a 37-cent tax rebate for every pound of trawled shrimp exported, or 7 cents per pound of farmed shrimp. (references) | |
Egypt | The Egyptian pound deposit base has increased substantially. (references) | |
Travel | Burma | Dollars can be exchanged for kyat at the official market counter at Theinbyu Street in Rangoon at the "official market rate" of 450 kyat to the dollar, as of July 2, 2001. The newly licensed five Theinbyu exchange counters (the previous ten holders had their licenses revoked in June 2001) are now allowed to exchange the British pound, the Japanese Yen, the French Franc, the Swiss Franc and the German Mark into FEC (and only then into kyat), effective on June 19, 2001. While there is demand for U.S. dollars, holding dollars is illegal for most Burmese nationals. (references) |
Ireland | The basic monetary unit is the Irish Pound (IR£) also known as the Punt. (references) | |
Lebanon | BUSINESS CUSTOMS: Lebanon uses the metric system of weights and measures, and the monetary unit is the Lebanese pound (LL), also called the Lira. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | I can certainly appreciate the fact that commercial airlines in this country were put in serious financial trouble by the terrorist attacks, but using that tragedy as a cudgel to pound billions of dollars out of the federal government was wrong. |
Paul Harvey | Sure, I still pound every word into an IBM Selectric. I did get that far. I used a manual typewriter until a just a few years ago. |
Robert Atkins | Well, all right, so you got a good start but eventually you'll switch on to ongoing weight loss anyway and you'll get to the point where you only lose one pound a week. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Pound" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 93.42% of the time. "Pound" is used about 6,360 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 93.42% | 5,942 | 1,641 |
| Noun (proper) | 5.37% | 342 | 15,474 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.94% | 60 | 43,597 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.25% | 16 | 87,710 |
| Unclassified Items | 0.02% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 6,360 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "pound" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Pound | Last name | 1,000 | 8,702 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
1. Pound, VA (town, FIPS 64272) 2. Pound, WI (village, FIPS 64750) |
Expressions using "pound": a pound sterling ♦ apothecaries' pound ♦ assay pound ♦ british pound ♦ cypriot pound ♦ dog pound ♦ Egyptian pound ♦ Ezra Loomis Pound ♦ Ezra Pound ♦ Falkland Islands pound ♦ Fish pound ♦ Foot pound ♦ Fot pound ♦ Gibraltar pound ♦ green pound ♦ half a pound ♦ half pound ♦ hold pound ♦ in for a penny in for a pound ♦ in Lob's pound ♦ irish pound ♦ Lebanese pound ♦ maltese pound ♦ one pound ♦ penny wise and pound foolish ♦ pound along ♦ pound at ♦ pound away ♦ pound cake ♦ pound covert ♦ pound down ♦ pound in ♦ pound net ♦ pound off ♦ pound on ♦ pound out ♦ pound overt ♦ Pound Ridge ♦ pound sign ♦ pound smb. to a jelly ♦ pound smth. to pieces ♦ pound sterling ♦ pound store ♦ pound the asphalt ♦ pound the pavement ♦ pound the piano ♦ pound up ♦ quarter pound ♦ sixpence the pound ♦ sudanese pound ♦ syrian pound ♦ troy pound. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "pound": Pound-breach, pound-cake, pound-dollar, Pound-eliot, pound-foolish, pound-for-pound, pound-keepers, Pound-the-man, Pound-the-poet, pound-weight. | |
Ending with "pound": fifty-pound, five-pound, half-pound, million-pound, multi-million-pound, nine-pound, one-pound, pound-for-pound, seven-pound, six-pound, ten-pound, three-pound, twenty-pound, two-pound. | |
Containing "pound": billion-pound-a-year, one-pound-notes, three-pound-fifty. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
walk away the pound | 514 | kilos pound | 80 |
pound | 474 | take off pound sensibly | 75 |
dog pound | 419 | in many ounce pound | 73 |
pound cake | 324 | lose 20 pound | 72 |
pound cake recipe | 299 | lemon pound cake | 69 |
kilogram pound | 241 | poet pound | 69 |
dollar to pound | 185 | exchange rate pound dollar | 68 |
ezra pound | 160 | kg pound | 67 |
british pound | 159 | peel away the pound | 64 |
pound to dollar conversion | 155 | convert gram pound | 59 |
conversion kilogram pound | 152 | in ounce pound | 58 |
convert kilogram pound | 139 | cake cream pound sour | 52 |
pound ridge ny | 121 | pound sterling | 51 |
lose 10 pound | 119 | conversion pound | 49 |
pound puppy | 111 | cream cheese pound cake | 49 |
gram pound | 105 | kilo pound | 48 |
lose 10 pound in 3 day | 104 | cake lemon pound recipe | 47 |
convert pound to dollar | 102 | tha dog pound | 43 |
conversion gram pound | 89 | conversion ounce pound | 42 |
ounce pound | 87 | calorie per pound | 42 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||