# Definition:Avoirdupois/Short/Hundredweight

## Definition

The short hundredweight is an avoirdupois unit of mass.

$1$ short hundredweight $= 100$ pounds avoirdupois $\approx 45 \cdotp 359$ kilograms.

## Historical Note

The short hundredweight is mainly used in America, where both that and the long hundredweight can be found.

## Linguistic Note on Hundredweight

The word hundredweight derives from its definition as close to $100$ pounds avoirdupois.

The short hundredweight is of course exactly $100$ pounds avoirdupois, while the long hundredweight is actually $112$ pounds.

Its plural form is hundredweight, not hundredweights.

## Linguistic Note on Avoirdupois

The word avoirdupois derives from the Norman French word whose literal translation is goods (that is property, or things owned) of weight.

The avoir part also means to have in modern French, and derives from the Latin habere.

It is pronounced something like av-wah-doo-pwah, although Francophones will be aware that there are further subtleties to this.