Skip to the word

Added 10 October 2026

ounce

/aʊns/ noun

In Latin: uncia Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ounce at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound.
A unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound or 16 drams or 28.349 grams.
Large feline of upland central Asia having long thick whitish fur.

Origin

From Middle English ounce, unce, from Middle French once, from Latin ū̆ncia (“Roman ounce, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of a, one, inch, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word