Where does “avoirdupois” come from?

Avoirdupois comes from Middle English avoir de pois, from Old French avoir meaning "to have," from Latin habere, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰeh₁bʰ- meaning "to grasp or hold."

avoirdupois (English): The official system of weights used in the UK...

Definitions

  1. The official system of weights used in the UK...

Ancestry of “avoirdupois”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishavoir de pois—
2Old FrenchaveirAlternative form of avoir
3Old Frenchavoirto have; to exist; possession; good
4Latinhabēregoods, capital, investment
Every word from Latin habēre →Every word from Old French avoir →Every word from Old French aveir →