why is the word pound abbreviated lb.?

Answer 1

Yeah. Think it's because it's derived from Latin, though I'm not sure.

Answer 2

It's an abbreviation of the Latin "libra", which was basically how much a book, or scroll, weighed. It became standard to cut lengths of parchment into uniform sections and roll them, so they were all the same size, and held the same amt of text. And, because they were of a standard size, their weight became a standard unit of measurement. In most Latin based languages, the masculine form of the word meant "book" (Spanish "libro"), and the feminine or neutral form meant "pound" ("libra"). As another post noted, "pound" is from the word meaning "to measure", and was probably used in a different context for centuries... At some point the two words became intercangeable, and then one took the place of the other in English. However, in most other European languages, they remain separate, "libra" meaning both "book" and " a measure of weight", though in different forms, and "prendere" meaning to think about or weigh...

Answer 3

The word “pound” comes from the Latin word pendere, meaning “to weigh”. The Latin word libra means “scales, balances" and it also describes a Roman unit of mass similar to a pound. This is the origin of the abbreviation “lb” for the pound.

Answer 4

pound (lb, lbm, or #) [1]
a traditional unit of mass or weight. The Romans used a pound
(the libra pondo, "pound of weight") divided into 12 ounces. All
the countries of western Europe used similar units, divided into
12 or 16 ounces, until the advent of the metric system. 12-ounce
pounds were common in Italy and southern France, but in Spain
and northern Europe 16-ounce pounds became the norm. The word
libra is used for this unit in Italy, Spain, and Portugal; in
France it is called the livre. Further north, the Latin word
pondo ("weight") is the origin of the names of the English pound,
Dutch pond, Danish pund, German pfund, and Russian funt. In
England, two different "pound" units became standard. The unit
now in general use in the United States is the avoirdupois pound,
so-called from a French phrase avoir du poids, literally "goods
of weight," indicating simply that the goods were being sold by
weight rather than by volume or by the piece. The avoirdupois
pound is divided into 16 ounces. By international agreement, one
avoirdupois pound is equal to exactly 453.59237 grams; this is
exactly 175/144 = 1.215 28 troy pounds. See avoirdupois weights
for additional information. The traditional symbol lb stands for
libra, the Latin word for the unit. The avoirdupois pound is
sometimes abbreviated lb av or lb ap to distinguish it from the
less common troy pound.

(Note that both "pound" and "lb" come from the Latin phrase "libra
pondo"; "pound" literally means merely "weight"!)

Answer 5

It's dervived from the word Libra because libra is depicted as scales which u use to balance stuff

Answer 6

no