Definition:Apothecaries' Weights and Measures/Mass/Scruple
Definition
The scruple is an apothecaries' unit of mass.
Conversion Factors
| \(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | scruple | |||||||||||
| \(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 20\) | grains | |||||||||||
| \(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 1 \cdotp 3\) | grams |
Historical Note
The scruple was defined to be the $\dfrac 1 {24}$ part of the Roman uncia, better known in modern times as the ounce.
It survives in the modern age as a unit of the apothecaries' scale whose ounce is approximately $1.1$ ounce avoirdupois.
Linguistic Note on Scruple
The word scruple is derived from the Latin scrupulus, which means small sharp stone.
A scruple in contemporary language means pang of conscience, probably deriving from the irritation given by a small stone in one's footwear.
Hence ones scruples are loosely understood as things that one does not do, as a result of one's sense of personal decency.
The phrase he would not scruple to ... is interpreted to mean his conscience would not prevent him from ..., usually in the context of performing some act generally considered socially unacceptable.
Linguistic Note on Apothecary
An apothecary is a medical professional who specialises in formulating and dispensing materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients.
The modern counterpart is pharmacist (also referred to as a (dispensing) chemist in British English).
However, in some languages and regions the word apothecary can still be found referring to a retail pharmacy or a pharmacist who owns one.
Thus the apothecaries' system of weights and measures focuses largely on small weights and volumes, where the materials being exchanged were renowned for being dispensed in tiny amounts.
The word apothecary derives from the Ancient Greek word ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē), meaning repository or storehouse.
The word migrated via the Latin apotheca, also meaning repository, storehouse or warehouse, to the Medieval Latin apothecarius, meaning storekeeper, and eventually to the Old French apotecaire.
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): apothecaries' system: 1.
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): apothecaries' system: 1.