4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 December 2023
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 4, 2023 is:
avoirdupois • \av-er-duh-POYZ\ • noun
Avoirdupois is synonymous with weight and heaviness, especially as related to the body. It also refers to the series of units of weight based on the pound of 16 ounces and the ounce of 16 drams.
// The coach limited his recruiting to linebackers of a certain avoirdupois.
Examples:
“... I find it hopeful that we’ve at least begun to dispense with the notion that only thin bodies are healthy and good. And to replace fantastical diet prescriptions with the common sense that healthy bodies eat all kinds of foods, depending on circumstance.... I will say Vogue’s diets have been right at least twice. A little Champagne at lunch is a sound choice, regardless of the rest of the meal, and, as an anonymous writer put it in these pages in 1906, ‘There is healthy fat as there is unhealthy fat, and unless your avoirdupois becomes such as to make you uncomfortable ... you should leave it alone.’” — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 24 Feb. 2022
Did you know?
When avoirdupois first appeared in English in the 15th century, it referred to “goods sold by weight,” which is also the meaning of its Middle English predecessor, avoir de pois. That term comes from an Anglo-French phrase meaning “goods of weight” or “property.” Today, avoirdupois most commonly refers to the system of weight measurement used for general merchandise, in which the pound is equal to 16 ounces, the ounce 16 drams, and the dram an ultra-specific 27.344 grains. (Some other weight systems are apothecaries’ weight, used to measure pharmaceutical items, and troy weight, used for precious metals.) It was William Shakespeare, in his play Henry IV, Part 2, who first used avoirdupois to mean “heaviness”: “the weight of a hair will turn the scales between their avoirdupois.”
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
0:00.0 | It's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 4th. |
0:11.3 | Today's word is Averde Poise, spelled A-V-O-I-R-D-U-P-O-I-S, Aver Du, P-O-I-S, Aver Du Poise, is a noun. |
0:22.0 | It's synonymous with the words weight and heaviness, especially as related to the body. |
0:28.0 | It also refers to the series of units of weight based on the pound of 16 ounces and the ounce of 16 drams. |
0:35.7 | Here's the word used in a sentence from vogue by Tamar Adler. |
0:40.0 | I find it hopeful that we've at least begun to dispense with the notion that only thin bodies are healthy and good, |
0:48.0 | and to replace fantastical diet prescriptions with the common sense that healthy bodies eat all kinds of foods depending on the circumstance. |
0:56.0 | I will say Vogue's diets have been right at least twice. |
1:00.0 | A little champagne at lunch is a sound choice regardless of the rest of the meal and as an anonymous writer put it in these pages in 1906 |
1:09.5 | There is healthy fat as there is unhealthy fat and unless you avaridepoise becomes such as to make you |
1:17.0 | uncomfortable you should leave it alone. When the word avaridepoise first appeared in English in the 15th century, it referred to goods sold by weight, |
1:27.0 | which is also the meaning of its middle French predecessor Avoir du Pois. |
1:32.0 | That term comes from an Anglo-French phrase meaning |
1:35.1 | goods of weight or property. Today Avidoupoise most commonly refers to the |
1:40.9 | system of weight measurement used for general merchandise, |
1:45.0 | in which the pound is equal to 16 ounces, the ounce 16 drams, and the dram, and |
1:50.4 | ultra specific 27.34 grains. |
1:55.0 | Some other weight systems are apothecaries weight |
1:58.0 | used to measure pharmaceutical items |
2:01.0 | and Troy weight used for precious metals. It was Shakespeare in his play Henry the |
2:06.7 | fourth part two who first used Avidipoyes to mean heaviness with these words, the weight of a hair will turn the scales between |
2:15.3 | their avaridopoise. With your word of the day I'm Peter Sokolowski. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Merriam-Webster, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Merriam-Webster and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.