what exactly does each letter stand for? somebody must have thought of that and abbreviated it to lbs...............
2007-02-07 16:48:23 · 3 answers · asked by tomhasi 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
It is short for Libra which is the greek pound.
A Roman libra or pound is an ancient unit of mass that was equivalent to approximately 327 grams. It was divided into 12 uncia, or ounces.
Here is where I found it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_(weight)#Roman_libra_or_pound
2007-02-07 16:54:07 · answer #1 · answered by micheletmoore 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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.
2007-02-08 01:05:11 · answer #2 · answered by mtnflower43 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's an abbreviation of the Latin word libra, which can mean scales (as in the astrological sign) as well as "libra pondo", pound weight, the second word of which is the origin of our word pound.
2007-02-08 00:50:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋