Hundred weight or hundredweight is a unit of measurement for mass in both the system of measurement used in the United Kingdom (and previously throughout the British Commonwealth), and in the system used in the United States. However, its definition differs in the two systems. Measurement is the determination of the size or magnitude of something. ... Unsolved problems in physics: What causes anything to have mass? Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it is equivalent to. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, the majority of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ...

• In Imperial units, a hundredweight ('long') is defined as 112 pounds avoirdupois, or 8 stone, or four quarters. This is so close to 50 kg that the transition to metric equivalents has been easy. It has now been legally defined in Britain as 50.80234544 kg.
• In U.S. customary units, a hundredweight ('short') is defined as 100 pounds. The short hundredweight is also the normal hundredweight in Canada.
  • The short hundredweight is also called a cental (which never means a long hundredweight), especially in places which normally use the long hundredweight. See Conversion of units

In both systems, there are twenty hundredweights to a ton – the long ton of 2240 pounds (approximately equal to a metric tonne), and the short ton of 2000 pounds. In both systems, the hundredweight is abbreviated cwt, where wt is an abbreviation for weight and c is an abbreviation for one hundred (since the Roman numeral C is equal to 100). The Imperial units are an irregularly standardized system of units that have been used in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, including the Commonwealth countries. ... The pound is the name of a number of units of mass, all in the range of 300 to 600 grams. ... The avoirdupois system is a system of weights defining terms such as pound and ounce. ... The stone is a unit of mass in the Imperial system of weights and measures used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most Commonwealth countries. ... U.S. customary units, commonly known in the United States as English units or standard units, are units of measurement that are currently used in the U.S., in some cases alongside units from SI (the International System of Units—the modern metric system). ... Conversion of units refers to conversion factors between units of measurement. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... A long ton is the name used in the US for the unit called the ton in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used (alongside the metric system) in the United Kingdom and to some extent in other Commonwealth countries. ... A tonne (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of weight. ... The short ton is a unit of mass equal to 907. ... Abbreviation (from Latin brevis short) is strictly a shorter form of a word, but more particularly, an abbreviation is a letter or group of letters, taken from a word or words, and employed to represent them for the sake of brevity. ... In the physical sciences, weight is a measurement of the gravitational force acting on an object. ... 100 (one hundred) (the Roman numeral is C for centum) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. ... The system of Roman numerals is a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, and was adapted from Etruscan numerals. ...

Prior to the 15th century in England, a hundredweight used the old hundred of 108 lb, giving a ton of 2160 pounds. In some industries (notably forges) this old hundred was retained somewhat longer. The London hundredweight of 112 pounds eventually replaced the old hundred.

The short hundredweight is commonly used in the sale of livestock and some cereal grains and oilseeds and on futures exchanges. The long hundredweight is now little used in any country, except sometimes for measuring the bells used for change ringing. In the UK and Ireland, the few household commodities that were commonly sold by the hundredweight, such as coal and some building materials, are now sold in 50 kg quantities. For most purposes metric units are now in use in the UK, while other Commonwealth countries and Ireland have adopted the metric system in full. The hundredweight is still used by some British laws which came into force before the metric system was established in the country. For instance, in Newcastle upon Tyne, vehicles in city car parks have a weight limit measured in hundredweights. Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... Oats, barley, and some products made from them Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible grains or seeds (technically a type of fruit called a caryopsis). ... Vegetable oil or vegoil is fat extracted from plant sources. ... A futures exchange, or futures and options exchange is a corporation or mutual organization which provides the facilities to trade derivatives such as futures contracts and options. ... A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called changes, without attempting to ring a conventional tune. ... Coal Coal (IPA: ) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). ... // Building material is any material which is used for a construction purpose. ... This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ...

External link

• UK Units of Measurement Regulations