POUND
What does "POUND" mean?
A unit of weight or of British currency; or to strike heavily and repeatedly.
Meanings
- A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (about 0.454 kilograms). The recipe calls for a pound of flour.
- The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom and several other countries, symbol £. The ticket cost twelve pounds.
- To strike something heavily and repeatedly. She pounded on the locked door, shouting for help.
- To beat or throb forcefully. His heart was pounding as he opened the envelope.
- An enclosure for holding stray animals or impounded vehicles. They had to collect their dog from the local pound.
Did you know?
- The pound is abbreviated 'lb' and its currency symbol is £ - both from the Latin 'libra' (scales) in the phrase 'libra pondo', so the letters never matched the English word at all.
Word origin
The weight and money sense come from Latin 'pondo' (by weight) and 'libra pondo' (a pound by weight) - which is why the pound's symbol is £ (from L for libra) and its abbreviation is 'lb'. The 'strike' verb is from Old English 'punian', and the animal enclosure from Old English 'pund'.
Remember it
POUND ties three things to weight: the pound on the scale, the pound in your wallet (£, from Latin libra), and the pounding of a hammer that comes down heavy.
A little poem
A pound of weight, a pound to spend,
a fist that pounds the door-
all of it, the heft of one small word.
tercet
Wordplay
- I lost a pound at the gym and a pound at the shops - one off my weight, one off my wallet, and both made my heart pound.
What it teaches
One small word can carry weight, money, and a striking fist - meaning is rarely as single as it looks.
Quick facts
What does POUND mean?
A unit of weight or of British currency; or to strike heavily and repeatedly.
Is POUND a valid word?
Yes — POUND is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is POUND?
POUND has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does POUND come from?
The weight and money sense come from Latin 'pondo' (by weight) and 'libra pondo' (a pound by weight) - which is why the pound's symbol is £ (from L for libra) and its abbreviation is 'lb'. The 'strike' verb is from Old English 'punian', and the animal enclosure from Old English 'pund'.
What can POUND teach us?
One small word can carry weight, money, and a striking fist - meaning is rarely as single as it looks.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.