| Pint | |
|---|---|
 A fullpint glass. Thefill line indicates a half pint. | |
| General information | |
| Unit of | volume |
| Symbol | pt, p |
| Conversions (imperial) | |
| 1 imp ptin ... | ... is equal to ... |
| SI derived unit | 568.26125 mL |
| Conversions (US) | |
| 1 US ptin ... | ... is equal to ... |
| SI derived unit | 473.176473 mL (liquid) |
| SI derived unit | 550.6104713575 mL (dry) |
Thepint (/ˈpaɪnt/,listenⓘ; symbolpt,[1][2] sometimes abbreviated asp[3]) is a unit ofvolume or capacity in both theimperial andUnited States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems, it is one-eighth of agallon.
The British imperial pint is 20.095% larger than the US pint becausethe two systems are defined differently. Almost all other countries have standardized on themetric system, so although some of them still also have traditional units called pints (such as for beverages), the volume varies by regional custom.
The imperial pint (≈ 568 mL) is used in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and otherCommonwealth countries. In the United States, two kinds of pint are used: a liquid pint (≈ 473 mL) and a less common dry pint (≈ 551 mL).
Otherformer British colonies, such as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, converted to the metric system in the 1960s and 1970s, so while the termpint may still be in common use in these countries, it may no longer refer to the British imperial pint once used throughout theBritish Empire.
Pint comes from theOld French wordpinte and perhaps ultimately fromVulgar Latinpincta meaning "painted", for marks painted on the side of a container to show capacity.[4] It is linguistically related, though greatly diverging in meaning, toPinto – anItalian,Spanish, andPortuguese name for a person with a speckled or dark complexion, often used as a surname in these languages.
In France, the French wordpinte is now used to describe a half-litre, slightly smaller than an Imperial pint, but inCanadian French it is used to describe an Imperial quart and the French wordchopine is used for an Imperial pint.[5]
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| 1 imperial pint | ≡ | 1/8 | imperialgallon |
| ≡ | 1/2 | imperialquart | |
| ≡ | 4 | imperialgills | |
| ≡ | 20 | imperialfluid ounces | |
| ≡ | 568.26125 | millilitres[a][6] | |
| ≈ | 34.6774291 | cubic inches[b] | |
| ≈ | 0.15011874 | US gallons | |
| ≈ | 0.600475 | US liquid quarts | |
| ≈ | 1.20095 | US liquid pints | |
| ≈ | 4.8038 | US gills | |
| ≈ | 19.2152 | US fluid ounces | |
| ≈ | 0.5160284 | US dry quarts | |
| ≈ | 1.0320567 | US dry pints | |
| ≈ | the volume of 20 oz (567 g) of water at 62 °F (16.7 °C) | ||
In the United States, traditional length and volume measures have been legally standardized for commerce by theinternational yard and pound agreement of 1959, using the definition of 1 yard as 0.9144meters: from this definition, the metric equivalents for inches, feet, miles, area measures, and measures of volume are determined.
The liquid pint is legally defined as one-eighth of a gallon of exactly 231 cubic inches, i.e. 28.875 cubic inches or473.176473 mililitres.
| 1 US liquid pint | ≡ | 1/8 | US gallon |
| ≡ | 1/2 | US liquid quart | |
| ≡ | 2 | UScups | |
| ≡ | 4 | USgills | |
| ≡ | 16 | USfluid ounces | |
| ≡ | 28.875 | cubic inches[b] | |
| ≡ | 473.176473 | millilitres[c] | |
| ≈ | 0.1040843 | imperial gallons | |
| ≈ | 0.4163371 | imperial quarts | |
| ≈ | 0.8326742 | imperial pints | |
| ≈ | 3.3306967 | imperial gills | |
| ≈ | 16.6534837 | imperial fluid ounces | |
| ≡ | 46200/107521 | US dry quart | |
| ≡ | 92400/107521 | US dry pint | |
| ≈ | the volume of 16.6534837 oz (472.11832 g) of water at 62 °F (16.7 °C) | ||
In the United States, the dry pint is equal to1/64 of a US bushel of exactly 2150.42 cubic inches, i.e. 33.6003125 cubic inches or550.6104713575 milliltres.
| 1 US dry pint | |||
| ≡ | 1/64 US bushel | ||
| ≡ | 1/16 US peck | ||
| ≡ | 1/2 US dry quart | ||
| ≡ | 33.6003125 cubic inches | ||
| ≡ | 550.6104713575 milliltres[c] | ||
| ≡ | 107521/739200 US gallon | ||
| ≡ | 107521/184800 US liquid quart | ||
| ≡ | 1+15121/92400 US liquid pints | ||
| ≡ | 4+15121/23100 US gills | ||
| ≡ | 18+3571/5775 US fluid ounces | ||
| ≈ | 0.1211174 imperial gallons | ||
| ≈ | 0.4844695 imperial quarts | ||
| ≈ | 0.968939 imperial pints | ||
| ≈ | 3.8757559 imperial gills | ||
| ≈ | 19.3787794 imperial fluid ounces | ||
| ≈ | the volume of 19.3787794 oz (549.37915 g) of water at 62 °F (16.7 °C) | ||
| Type | Definition | Equals | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flemishpintje | 250 mL | ||
| India | 330 mL | 330 mL | 'Pint bottle' capacity. |
| South Australian pint | 425 mL | 425 mL | Known in the rest of Australia as aschooner |
| Australian pint | 570 mL | 570 mL | Based on the imperial pint rounded to a metric value. |
| Royal pint orpinte du roi | 48 French cubic inches | ≈ 952 mL | Varied by region from 0.95 to over 2 litres. |
| Canadianpinte de bière (only in French) | Imperial quart | ≈ 1136 mL | |
| Scottish pint orjoug (obsolete) | 2 pints and 19.69 imp fl oz | ≈ 1696 mL |
Anow-obsolete unit of measurement inScotland, known as theScottish pint, orjoug, is equal to 1696 mL (2 pints 19.69 imp fl oz). It remained in use until the 19th century, surviving significantly longer than most of the old Scottish measurements.
The wordpint is one of numerousfalse friends between English and French. They are not the same unit although they have the same linguistic origin. TheFrench wordpinte is etymologically related, but historically described a larger unit. The Royal pint (pinte du roi) was 48 French cubic inches (952.1 mL),[7] but regional pints varied in size depending on locality and on commodity (usually wine or olive oil) varying from 0.95 L to over 2 L.[7]
InCanada, theWeights and Measures Act (R.S. 1985) defines a pint in English as one eighth of a gallon, but defines apinte in French as one quarter of a gallon.[8][d] Thus, if "a pint of beer" is ordered in English, servers are legally required to serve an imperial pint (568 mL) of beer,[9] but under the federalAct, "une pinte de bière" legally refers to the larger imperial quart (1136 mL), while an imperial pint is designated asune chopine. However, in practice[10] and according to Quebec’s Board of the French Language,[11]une pinte commonly refers to the same 568 mL imperial pint as in English.
InFlanders, the wordpintje, meaning 'little pint', refers only to a 250 mL glass of lager. Some West- and East-Flemish dialects use it as a word forbeaker. The equivalent word in German,Pintchen, refers to a glass of a third of a litre inCologne and theRhineland.
InSouth Australia, ordering "a pint of beer" results in 425 mL (15 fl oz) being served. Customers must specifically request "an Imperial pint of beer" to get 570 mL (20 fl oz). Australians from otherstates often contest the size of their beers inAdelaide.[12]
One US liquid pint of water weighs 1.0431756pounds (16.6908 oz), which gives rise to a popular saying: "A pint's a pound the world around".[13]
However, the statement does not hold around the world, because the British imperial pint, which was also the standard measure in Britain's former colonies - such as Ireland, Canada, Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Africa - weighs 1.2528pounds (20.0448 oz). This prompted theSociety for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge to coin a saying for use in Commonwealth countries: "a pint of pure water weighs a pound and a quarter".[14]
The pint is traditionally one eighth of agallon. In theLatin of theapothecaries' system, the symbolO (octarius oroctavius; pluraloctarii oroctavii – reflecting the "eighth" concept in itsocta- syllable) was used for the pint.[15] Because of the many historical definitions of a gallon, there have been many definitions of the pint.
Britain's North American colonies adopted the Britishwine gallon, defined in 1707 as exactly 231 cubic inches (3 in × 7 in × 11 in) as their basic liquid measure, from which the US wet pint is derived, and the British corn gallon (1⁄8 of a standard "Winchester"bushel ofcorn, or exactly 268.8025 cubic inches) as its dry measure, from which the US dry pint is derived.
In 1824, the British parliament replaced all the various gallons with a newimperial gallon based on ten pounds of distilled water at 62 °F (16.7 °C) (≈277.4194 cubic inches), from which the current imperial pint is derived.
The various Canadian provinces continued to use the wine gallon as a basis for their pint until 1873, well after Britain adopted the imperial system in 1824, while the traditional Frenchpinte used inLower Canada (Quebec) was twice the size of the traditional English pint used inUpper Canada (Ontario). After four of the British provinces united in theCanadian Confederation in 1867, Canada legally adopted the British imperial system of measure in 1873.[16]
In 1873, the French Canadianpinte was defined as being one imperialquart or two imperial pints, while the imperial pint was legally called achopine in French Canada. While the imperial pint, quart, and gallon are still legal units of measure in Canada, they are 20.095% larger than their American counterparts.
Historically, units called a pint (or the equivalent in the local language) were used across much of Europe, with values varying between countries from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, these pints were replaced with liquid measures based on themetric system during the 19th century. The term is still in limited use in parts of France andCentral Europe, notably some areas ofGermany[17] andSwitzerland, whereein Schoppen is colloquially used for half a litre. In Spanish holiday resorts frequented by British tourists, 'pint' is often taken to mean a beer glass (especially a dimple mug). Half-pint 285 mL, and pint mugs, 570 mL, may therefore be referred to asmedia jarra ('half jar/jug') andjarra (grande)('large jar/jug').[citation needed]
In theBritish andIrish metrication processes, the pint was replaced by metric units as the legally defined primary unit of measure for trading by volume or capacity, except for the sale of draught beer and cider, andmilk in returnable containers.[18][19] As a supplementary unit, the pint can still be used in those countries in all circumstances. UK legislation mandates that draught beer and cider must be sold in one-third of a pint, two-thirds of a pint, or multiples of half a pint, which must be served in stamped, measured glasses or from government-stamped meters. Milk, in returnable containers, may come in pints without the metric equivalent stated. However, all other goods apart from the aforementioned exceptions must be sold or labelled in metric units. Milk in plastic containers mostly comes in multiples of 1 pint, but they are required to display the metric equivalent on packaging.[20] Filtered milk and UHT milk sold in the UK is commonly sold in multiples of 1 litre bottles or containers.[21] Recipes published in the UK and Ireland would have given ingredient quantities in imperial, where the pint is used as a unit for larger liquid quantities, as well as the metric measure - though recipes written now are more likely to use metric units.[22][23]
In Australia and New Zealand, a subtle change was made to 1 pint milk bottles during the conversion from imperial to metric in the 1970s: the height and diameter of the milk bottle remained unchanged, so that existing equipment for handling and storing the bottles was unaffected, but the shape was adjusted to increase the capacity from 568 mL to 600 mL, a conveniently rounded metric measure. Such milk bottles are no longer officially referred to as pints. However, the"pint glass" in pubs in Australia remains closer to the standard imperial pint, at 570 mL. It holds about 500 mL of beer and about 70 mL of froth, except in South Australia, where a pint is served in a 425 mL glass and a 570 mL glass is called an "imperial pint".
In New Zealand, there is no longer any legal requirement for beer to be served in standard measures: in pubs, the largest size of glass, which is referred to as a pint, varies, but usually contains 425 mL.[24]
Aftermetrication in Canada, milk and other liquids in pre-packaged containers came in metric sizes so conversion issues could no longer arise. Draft beer in Canada, when advertised as a "pint", is legally required to be an imperial pint (568 mL).[25][26][27] With the allowed margin of error of 0.5 fluid ounces, a "pint" that is less than 554 mL of beer is an offence, though this regulation is often violated and rarely enforced.[28] To avoid legal issues, many drinking establishments are moving away from using the term "pint" and are selling "glasses" or "sleeves" of beer, neither of which have a legal definition.[29]
A 375 mL bottle of liquor in the US and the Canadian maritime provinces is sometimes referred to as a "pint" and a 200 mL bottle is called a "half-pint", harking back to the days when liquor came in US pints, fifths, quarts, and half-gallons.[30] Liquor in the US has been sold in metric sized bottles since 1980, although beer is still sold in US traditional units.[31]
In France, a standard 250 mL measure of beer is known asun demi ("a half"), originally meaning a half-pint.
