why is lb short for pound?!?

Question

if g is short for gramme and kg is short for kilogramme (which makes sense!) and oz is short for ounce (which vaguely makes sense!) then how come lb is short for pound?!?!? lb?! I don't claim to be a walking dictionary but I think I can state quite categorically that the word "pound" has neither an "l" nor a "b" in it!!

Answer 1

Because the word libra is Latin for pound.
In Italian ounce is onza.

Answer 2

Mr Spiffy has provided the word's origins (to back him up, numerous dictionaries will tell you the same thing).
Note also the following -- "The abbreviations lb., £ are from libra, and reflect the medieval custom of keeping accounts in Latin."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=pound&searchmode=none

But perhaps you also want to know WHY we use abbreviations for LATIN words to stand for English ones not only here but in many other cases. Examples: etc., e.g., i.e., viz., AM/PM, sic, P.S, cf. ca.. .. For most of these, when you see it you are expected not to use the Latin word, nor to simply pronounce the letters, but to substitute the English word or expression ("and so forth" for "etc"[et cetera], "that is" for "i.e."[id est], "number" for "no"[numero])

So why all these Latin abbreviations? It's simply a relic of a time when most serious English writing WAS in Latin.

"Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe. From the eighteenth century authors started using their mother tongue to write books, papers or proceedings. However many Latin abbreviations continued to be used due to their precise simplicity and also Latin's status as a learned language."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_abbreviations

By the way, "oz" for "ounce" has nothing directly to do with our English word. It originated with the Italian equivalent "onza".

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” or “℔” for the pound. The “s” at the end of “lbs” simply denotes the plural form.

Answer 4

From Libra Pondo (pound weight)

The origin is in the Latin word libra, which could mean both balance scales (hence the symbol for the astrological sign Libra, which was named after a constellation that was thought to resemble scales) and also a pound weight, for which the full expression was libra pondo, the second word being the origin of our pound.

Answer 5

pound (n.1)
"measure of weight," O.E. pund, from W.Gmc. stem *punda- "pound" as a measure of weight (cf. Goth. pund, O.H.G. pfunt, Ger. Pfund, M.Du. pont, O.Fris., O.N. pund), early borrowing from L. pondo "pound," originally in libra pondo "a pound by weight," from pondo (adv.) "by weight," ablative of *pondus "weight" (see span (v.)). Meaning "unit of money" was in O.E., originally "pound of silver." At first "12 ounces;" meaning "16 ounces" was established before 1377. Pound cake (1747) so called because it has a pound, more or less, of each ingredient. Pound of flesh is from "Merchant of Venice" IV.i. The abbreviations lb., £ are from libra, and reflect the medieval custom of keeping accounts in Latin.

Answer 6

"lb" - is short for pound due to the Latin word "pandere" that means to weigh. Pound in Latin and Spanish is "Libra"...hence the abbreviation "lb".

Answer 7

because people started using crack cocain quite a long time ago. but it comes from libra in latin, but libra is scales i believe, it doesn't exactly mean pounds, it means the weight