| hundredweight | |
|---|---|
| Unit system | |
| Unit of | mass |
| Symbol | cwt |
Thehundredweight (abbreviation:cwt), formerly also known as thecentum weight orquintal, is aBritish imperial andUnited States customary unit ofweight ormass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial systems. The two values are distinguished inAmerican English as theshort andlong hundredweight and inBritish English as thecental andimperial hundredweight.
Under both conventions, there are 20 hundredweight in aton, producing a "short ton" of 2,000 pounds (907.2 kg) and a "long ton" of 2,240 pounds (1,016 kg).
The hundredweight has had many values. In England in around 1300, differenthundreds (centum inMedieval Latin)were defined. TheWeights and Measures Act 1835 formally established the present imperial hundredweight of 112pounds (50.80 kg).
The United States and Canada came to use the term "hundredweight" to refer to a unit of 100pounds (45.36 kg). This measure was specifically banned from British use—upon risk of being sued forfraud—by theWeights and Measures Act 1824 (5 Geo. 4. c. 74), but in 1879 the measure was legalised under the name "cental" in response to legislative pressure from British merchants importingwheat andtobacco from the United States into the United Kingdom.[3]
The short hundredweight is commonly used as a measurement in the United States in the sale oflivestock and somecereal grains[4] andoilseeds,paper, andconcrete additives and on some commodities infutures exchanges.[5]
A few decades ago,[timeframe?] commodities weighed in terms of long hundredweight included cattle, cattle fodder, fertilizers, coal, some industrial chemicals, other industrial materials, and so on. However, since the increasing usage of the metric system in most English-speaking countries, it is now used to a far lesser extent. Church bell ringers use the unit commonly,[6] although church bell manufacturers are increasingly moving over to the metric system[citation needed].
Older blacksmiths'anvils are often stamped with a three-digit number indicating their total weight in hundredweight, quarter-hundredweight (28 lb (13 kg), abbreviated qr), and pounds. Thus, an anvil stamped "1.1.8" will weigh 148 lb (67 kg) (112 lb (51 kg) + 28 lb (13 kg) + 8 lb (3.6 kg)).[7]The same three part scheme is used for church bells (formatted cwt–qr–lb).[6]
The long hundredweight is used as a measurement of vehicle weight inthe Bailiwick of Guernsey. It was also previously used to indicate the maximum recommended carrying load of vans and trucks, such as theFord Thames 5 and 7 cwt vans[8] and the 8, 15, 30 and 60 cwtCanadian Military Pattern trucks.[9]
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In Europe outside the British Isles, a centum orquintal was never defined in terms of British units. Instead, it was based on thekilogramme or former customary units. It is usually abbreviatedq. It was 50 kg (110 lb) in Germany, 48.95 kg (108 lb) in France, 56 kg (123 lb) in Austria, etc. The unit was phased out or metricized after the introduction of themetric system in the 1790s, being occasionally retained in informal use up to the mid-20th century.[10]
