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Origin and history of oz.

oz.

abbreviation of ounce (n.1), 1540s, from Italian oz. (15c.), abbreviation of onza.

Entries linking to oz.

ounce(n.1)

unit of weight, the twelfth part of a pound, early 14c., from Old French once, unce, a measure of weight or time (12c.), from Latin uncia "one-twelfth part" (of a pound, a foot, etc.), from Latin unus "one" (from PIE root *oi-no- "one, unique"). The Latin word had been adopted in Old English as ynce (see inch).

It was one-twelfth of a pound in the Troy system of weights, but one-sixteenth in avoirdupois. Abbreviation oz. is from older Italian onza. It was used loosely from late 14c. for "a small quantity." Also used in Middle English as a measure of time (7.5 seconds) and length (about 3 inches). In figurative expressions and proverbs, an ounce of X is compared to or contrasted with a pound of Y from 1520s.

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    Munchkin
    Frank Baum (1856-1919) in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." He never explained how he got the word....["The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"]...
    dram
    mid-15c., "small weight of apothecary's measure," a phonetic spelling, from Anglo-Latin dragma, Old French drame, from Late Latin dragma, from Latin drachma "drachma," from Greek drakhma "measure of weight," also, "silver coin," literally "handful" (of six obols, the least valuab
    pound
    [fundamental unit of weight] Old English pund "pound" (in weight or money), also "pint," from Proto-Germanic *punda- "pound" as a measure of weight (source of Gothic pund, Old High German phunt, German Pfund, Middle Dutch pont, Old Frisian and Old Norse pund), an early borrowing
    battery
    1530s, "action of battering," in law, "the unlawful beating of another," from French batterie, from Old French baterie "beating, thrashing, assault" (12c.), from batre "to beat," from Latin battuere (see batter (v.)). The meaning shifted in French from "bombardment" ("heavy blows
    boondoggle
    "wasteful expenditure," especially by the government under guise of public good, April 1935, American English; earlier it was a name for a kind of braided leather lanyard made by Boy Scouts and worn by them around the neck or hat. In this sense it is attested from 1930, and accor
    suffrage
    late 14c., "prayer," especially "intercessory prayers or pleas on behalf of another," from Old French sofrage "plea, intercession" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin suffragium, from Latin suffragium "support, ballot, vote cast in an assembly; right of voting; a voting table
    dusk
    "partial darkness, state between light and darkness, twilight," 1620s, from an earlier adjective dusk, from Middle English dosc (c. 1200) "obscure, not bright; tending to darkness, shadowy," having more to do with color than light, which is of uncertain origin, not found in Old E
    crux
    1814, "a cross," from Latin crux "cross," a word of uncertain origin. Sometimes said to be cognate with Irish cruach "heap, hill," Gaulish *krouka "summit," Old Norse hryggr "backbone," Old English hrycg "back." But de Vaan is suspicious: The Celtic and Gm. forms are often recon
    asphyxia
    1706, "stoppage of pulse, absence of pulse," from Modern Latin asphyxia "stopping of the pulse," from Greek asphyxia "stopping of the pulse," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + sphyzein "to throb, to beat violently," which is of unknown origin. Obsolete in its original sense; the trans
    usher
    late 13c., "servant who has charge of doors and admits people to a chamber, hall, etc.," from Anglo-French usser (12c.), Old French ussier, uissier "porter, doorman," from Vulgar Latin *ustiarius "doorkeeper," variant of Latin ostiarius "door-keeper," from ostium "door, entrance,

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