Mesures Usuelles

The ) was thought necessarily to be divided into sixteen ''onces'' ( Ounce s); a ''toise'' ( Fathom or double-yard) was thought to be divided into 72 ''pouces'' ( Inch es) - as though these were absolute - or God-given - concepts.

and Metre served an immediate standardization over the whole country, instead of having several legal types in different parts of the country, let alone across the whole of Europe. The new (but never called "new") ''livre'' was accepted as five hundred Gramme s, the new (but never called "new") ''toise'' was accepted as two Metre s. Products could be sold in shops under the old names, which related to one another in the same manner, but did not have quite the same absolute sizes. The term for this series of measurements was ''mesures usuelles''.

Here is a list of this new standardization:

The ''toise'' or French fathom, though used more often than an English fathom, was now defined as two metres in length, and was divided into 6 ''pieds'', or "feet"; this French foot (thus being in length a third of a metre) being divided in turn into 12 ''pouces'', or "inches," and, as in Britain but not as in the US, the inch was divided into 12 ''lignes'', or lines.

Another old unit of measuring length, the ''aune'' or " Ell " used to measure cloth was 120 centimetres, and divided into halves; ''tiers'', meaning "thirds"; and quarters. (This measurement has survived in the form of wood sizes sold in hardware stores throughout Europe, but the name of the basic size, as well as its subdivisions, has been discarded.)

The Litre was subdivided like an English Quart , into ''demis'' (literally, "halves", being the equivalent of a Pint of about eight Fluid Ounce s), ''quarts'' (literally, "fourths", being the equivalent of a cup of about four fluid ounces), ''huitièmes'' (literally, "eighths") and ''seizièmes'' (literally, "sixteenths," of about one fluid ounce).

The ''boisseau'', or " Bushel ," was redefined as an eighth of a hectolitre; it also kept its double, half, and quarter subdivisions.

The ''livre'', or "pound," was restandardized to 500 grams, but was now able to be divided into 16 ''onces'', or "ounces"; each such French ounce had its old subdivision into 8 ''gros''; each gros being thought of as being composed of 72 ''grains'', of which the name is the same as in English. Hence, the livre was of 9216 of these grains.

The system of permitting the usual measures lasted until 1839 , even though this was under a Constitutional Monarchy , rather than either the Empire of Napoleon III or under the Third Republic of France, which would each have had greater ideological interest in getting rid of feudal subdivisions and so present themselves as being progressive. An echo of a similar system may still be heard in Germany where a half-kilo is sometimes referred to as a Pfund (pound).

SEE ALSO

Information About

Mesures Usuelles