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hundredweight
A hundredweight (cwt) road sign in Ilkley, Yorkshire
General information
Unit system
Unit ofmass
Symbolcwt

The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial systems. The two values are distinguished in American English as the short and long hundredweight and in British English as the cental and imperial hundredweight.

Under both conventions, there are 20 hundredweight in a ton, producing a "short ton" of 2,000 pounds (907.2 kg) and a "long ton" of 2,240 pounds (1,016 kg).

History

[edit]

The hundredweight has had many values. In England in around 1300, different hundreds (centum in Medieval Latin) were defined. The Weights and Measures Act 1835 formally established the present imperial hundredweight of 112 pounds (50.80 kg).

The United States and Canada came to use the term "hundredweight" to refer to a unit of 100 pounds (45.36 kg). This measure was specifically banned from British use—upon risk of being sued for fraud—by the Weights 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 importing wheat and tobacco from the United States into the United Kingdom.[3]

Use

[edit]
A hundredweight (cwt) road sign in Alderney, Bailiwick of Guernsey

The short hundredweight is commonly used as a measurement in the United States in the sale of livestock and some cereal grains[4] and oilseeds, paper, and concrete additives and on some commodities in futures 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 in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It was also previously used to indicate the maximum recommended carrying load of vans and trucks, such as the Ford Thames 5 and 7 cwt vans[8] and the 8, 15, 30 and 60 cwt Canadian Military Pattern trucks.[9]

Europe

[edit]

In Europe outside the British Isles, a centum or quintal was never defined in terms of British units. Instead, it was based on the kilogramme or former customary units. It is usually abbreviated q. 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 the metric system in the 1790s, being occasionally retained in informal use up to the mid-20th century.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Hundredweight

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
A hundredweight (symbol: cwt), also known as a cental in North American contexts, is a unit of mass in the system of weights and measures, historically used for commodities and goods in . In the United States customary system, the short hundredweight is defined as exactly 100 avoirdupois pounds, equivalent to 45.359237 kilograms. In the British imperial system, the long hundredweight is standardized at 112 avoirdupois pounds, or 50.802345 kilograms—a value based on eight stones of 14 pounds each—formalized by the Weights and Measures Act of 1835 but tracing its origins to medieval English practices around the under King Edward III. The name hundredweight originates from usage referring to a weight of approximately 100 pounds, while the abbreviation cwt derives from the Latin centum (meaning "hundred"). This unit forms the basis for larger measures: 20 short hundredweights comprise a (2,000 pounds or 907.185 kg) in the , while 20 long hundredweights make a (2,240 pounds or 1,016.047 kg) in the imperial system. As of 2025, the hundredweight remains in use in sectors like (e.g., for and ), shipping, and production, despite the global shift toward the metric (1,000 kg).

Definition and Fundamentals

Core Definition

The term "hundredweight" derives from roots, combining "hund" meaning "hundred" with "wīht" or "gewiht" meaning "weight" or "heaviness," evolving in to denote a measure equivalent to 100 units of a base weight such as pounds. The hundredweight is a unit of mass in the system, generally defined as equal to 100 pounds, though the precise value depends on the specific regional or national system in use. It is abbreviated as "cwt," derived from the Latin "centum" meaning "hundred," and its plural form is either "hundredweight" or "hundredweights." In terms of metric equivalence, the short hundredweight corresponds to exactly 45.359237 kilograms, while the long hundredweight is 50.802345 kilograms, based on the international definition of the pound; it is not recognized as a standard unit within the (SI). Twenty short hundredweights form a , while twenty long hundredweights form a .

Relation to Pound and Ton

In the avoirdupois system of weights used in the British imperial and customary systems, the hundredweight serves as an intermediate unit between the pound and the , forming a hierarchical structure where 1 short hundredweight equals 100 pounds and 1 long hundredweight equals 112 pounds, with 20 hundredweights constituting 1 in each respective system. The short hundredweight is defined as exactly 100 pounds, leading to the short ton of 20 × 100 = 2,000 pounds. In contrast, the long hundredweight comprises 112 pounds, resulting in the long ton of 20 × 112 = 2,240 pounds. These relationships establish the hundredweight's role in scaling measurements for bulk commodities within the avoirdupois system. Additional conversion factors integrate the hundredweight with other imperial units, such as the stone; for instance, 1 long hundredweight equals 8 stones, where each stone is 14 pounds (8 × 14 = 112 pounds). Unlike the imperial hundredweight, the metric quintal—another unit implying a "hundred weight"—equals 100 kilograms (approximately 220.46 pounds) and operates within the metric system, highlighting the distinct scales between imperial and metric hierarchies.

Historical Origins

Medieval and Early Modern Roots

The hundredweight originated in medieval during the 13th and 14th centuries, closely tied to the booming and agricultural that dominated the . In this period, the hundredweight approximated 100 pounds for weighing and other commodities like cheese and in regional markets, facilitating the and of goods in sacks often containing multiple hundredweights. The concept drew influence from earlier Roman and Anglo-Saxon weighing systems, where foundational units such as the Roman centena—a grouping of 100 pounds (librae)—provided a precursor that adapted into local English variants over centuries of and conquest. Anglo-Saxon practices, building on these Roman roots, emphasized commodity-based units for agricultural , evolving the centena into a flexible measure amid the integration of Germanic and Latin traditions following the . Throughout its early development, the hundredweight exhibited considerable variability, lacking a fixed national standard until the , as local customs dictated differing equivalents based on goods and regions. The of 1086, for instance, illustrates this inconsistency through records of corn weights, where measures fluctuated significantly across manors and counties, often tied to local bushels or quarters without uniform . A pivotal attempt at uniformity came in the mid-14th century under Edward III, who in 1340 declared the standard wool sack to weigh 26 stones of 14 pounds each (364 pounds total), though enforcement remained regional and incomplete, allowing persistent local divergences in hundredweight applications. The Statute of Weights and Measures of 1351 (25 Edward III, c. 10) sought to standardize capacity measures like the quarter (eight bushels) for other trade goods.

Standardization Efforts

The variability in medieval definitions of the hundredweight, often tied to local trade practices for goods like wool, prompted increasing calls for national standardization in Britain during the 18th century. In 1758, a parliamentary committee examined existing weights and measures, including those for wool, and confirmed the wool hundredweight at 112 pounds avoirdupois while distinguishing it from standards for other commodities to address discrepancies in trade. This effort laid groundwork for later reforms but did not impose uniform enforcement across all goods. The 19th century saw more comprehensive legislative action to unify the system. The Weights and Measures Act of 1824 established the avoirdupois pound as the base unit and defined the long hundredweight as 112 pounds, equivalent to eight stones of 14 pounds each, as the official standard for most dry goods in the British Empire; it also prohibited the use of the 100-pound "cental" to prevent fraud in commerce. The Weights and Measures Act of 1855 further confirmed these standards by basing the imperial stone and hundredweight on the historical wool stone from Edward III's era, ensuring consistency in imperial brass prototypes held by the Exchequer. In the United States, post-independence commerce diverged from British practices, retaining colonial preferences for simpler divisions. Influenced by pre-revolutionary habits, the short hundredweight of 100 pounds gained prominence in the 1830s; the Department's 1836 adoption of national standards formalized the at 2,000 pounds, implicitly defining 20 short hundredweights of 100 pounds each for commercial use in and interstate . International standardization efforts in the late focused on the but left customary units like the hundredweight unaffected. At the 1875 in , 17 nations, including the and United Kingdom, agreed to establish metric prototypes under the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, yet both countries maintained their imperial and customary systems, with the hundredweight persisting as a non-metric unit in domestic and some contexts.

Regional Variations

United Kingdom and Long Hundredweight

The long hundredweight in the United Kingdom is defined as 112 pounds, equivalent to 50.802 kilograms. This unit traces its roots to the medieval wool trade, where the stone weight for wool was standardized at 14 pounds by royal statute in 1389, resulting in a hundredweight of eight stones or 112 pounds to facilitate commerce. The Weights and Measures Act 1824 established this as the official avoirdupois hundredweight, explicitly distinguishing it from troy weights—used for precious metals and gems—where the pound is approximately 373 grams rather than 453.592 grams. Throughout history, the long hundredweight dominated agricultural measurements in the UK, particularly for hay and , remaining prevalent until the mid-20th century. Loads of hay were typically quantified around 18 hundredweight, reflecting practical capacities, while distribution relied on the unit for bulk and household supply. For example, during , domestic rations were limited to 15 long hundredweight annually in and 20 in northern regions to conserve resources. Twenty long hundredweight comprise one of 2,240 pounds, underscoring the unit's integration into larger imperial scales. Commonwealth nations like and adopted the long hundredweight as part of their inherited imperial systems before in the 1970s. In , the transition starting in 1970 included allowances for in specific trade sectors, permitting continued use of the hundredweight in agricultural and commodity dealings despite the push toward the . The 1824 Act's separation of from weights preserved the long hundredweight's role in everyday commerce, while its legacy endures in handicaps, where assigned weights are denoted in stones (14 pounds each) and pounds—directly convertible to hundredweight, as eight stones equal one.

United States and Short Hundredweight

In the , the short hundredweight, abbreviated as cwt or sh cwt, is defined as exactly 100 pounds. This equates to approximately 45.359 kilograms, based on the international pound of 0.45359237 kilograms. The unit forms part of the U.S. customary system of weights and measures, which was indirectly standardized through 19th-century federal legislation aimed at simplifying trade and ensuring uniformity. Key efforts included the Treasury Department's adoption of the pound in 1832 and the distribution of uniform standards to states in 1836, providing a consistent foundation for derived units like the short hundredweight. The 1866 Metric Act further formalized these customary units by defining their metric equivalents, legalizing metric use while preserving imperial measures for practical trade applications. The short hundredweight originated in the colonial era, drawing from earlier English practices that included a 100-pound "short" or "net" hundredweight alongside the longer 112-pound version. Colonial traders favored the simpler 100-pound unit for its alignment with numerical convenience in , diverging from evolving English standards. Although the 1866 Metric Act authorized metric alternatives, the short hundredweight persisted in U.S. bulk goods transactions due to entrenched imperial preferences in domestic markets. In modern U.S. applications, the short hundredweight remains integral to and sectors. It is commonly employed for pricing and reporting sales, production (such as ), and certain grains and oilseeds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) frequently uses it in statistical reports, converting yields like or into hundredweights for consistency; for instance, outputs are often aggregated into short tons comprising 20 short hundredweights (2,000 pounds total). In , particularly production, the unit underpins measurements, with the (EIA) reporting annual U.S. output—such as 577.9 million s in 2023—in this framework. The U.S. short hundredweight differs from the United Kingdom's long hundredweight of 112 pounds, which became standard there after the 1824 Weights and Measures Act. This divergence contributed to confusions in the , as American exporters and British importers navigated mismatched units in bulk shipments.

Continental Europe and Other Systems

In , the adoption of the during the led to the redefinition of traditional hundredweight-like units in decimal terms, creating equivalents that aligned with kilograms while retaining historical names. The German Zentner, historically a measure of 100 Pfund (pounds), was standardized to 50 kilograms following Germany's in 1872, effectively functioning as a half-metric hundredweight for bulk commodities such as and . Similarly, the French , derived from medieval commerce and originally around 48-50 kilograms based on the , was officially set at 100 kilograms as part of the metric reforms, serving as a full metric hundredweight in and . Prior to widespread , non-metric variants of hundredweight systems varied by region but often approximated 46-50 kilograms for practical bulk weighing. In the pre-metric , the honderdpond denoted 100 pond, each pond weighing approximately 494 grams, resulting in a total of about 49.4 kilograms used for merchandise like spices and textiles until the Dutch metric law of 1816-1820. The Spanish quintal, meanwhile, comprised 100 libras, with the libra standardized at around 0.46 kilograms in Castile, yielding roughly 46 kilograms for exports such as and metals before Spain's partial metric adoption in 1859 and full implementation in 1924. Beyond , analogous systems appeared in other regions, though not direct equivalents to the Anglo hundredweight. In , the maund persisted as a traditional unit for grains and , standardized under British rule to 40 seers or approximately 37.32 kilograms (about 82 pounds), influencing local bulk trade but distinct in its South Asian origins and retention post-independence for informal markets. In , the pood served as a foundational unit in obsolete bulk weighing systems until the Bolshevik metric transition in 1918, with one pood equaling 40 funt (about 16.38 kilograms) and larger multiples used for commodities such as salt and iron, reflecting Slavic adaptations of Byzantine weights. The 19th-century push for metric standardization across largely displaced these hundredweight variants, promoting uniformity in international commerce, though remnants lingered in . For example, the Polish cetnar, influenced by German conventions, was equated to 50 kilograms in the and continued in limited agricultural and contexts until the , when full metric enforcement under communist reforms eliminated it.

Modern Applications and Status

Commercial and Industrial Use

In contemporary trade, the hundredweight remains a practical unit in specific sectors, particularly in the where the short hundredweight (100 pounds) is employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for reporting and certain markets. For instance, USDA reports frequently quote prices per hundredweight, such as weekly weighted average live steer prices at $228.70 per hundredweight as of November 2025. Similarly, rice production forecasts are issued in million hundredweights, with the 2025/26 U.S. output projected at 207.31 million hundredweight as of November 2025. In the , the long hundredweight (112 pounds) persists in some bulk commodity trades, though official statistics have largely shifted to metric tonnes; freight shipping in the 2020s often involves conversions from hundredweight to ensure compatibility with international standards. Industrial applications of the hundredweight are evident in sectors handling bulk materials, where it facilitates and in regions retaining . In U.S. , while primary aggregates like and are typically sold by the (equivalent to 20 short hundredweights), the underlying hundredweight structure aids in precise scaling for large-volume orders, such as estimating 2,000 pounds per for transport. Globally, remnants of hundredweight measurement appear in international markets, particularly U.S.-centric exchanges for oilseeds and products, where short hundredweight supports hedging against volatility. To accommodate these applications amid metric dominance, various software tools and online converters enable seamless hundredweight-to-metric translations, essential for cross-border transactions; examples include dedicated apps handling over 30,000 unit conversions, including hundredweight variants. However, challenges persist in commercial use, notably conversion errors arising from discrepancies between short and long hundredweights in exports. These issues highlight the need for standardized tools to mitigate risks in persisting imperial-metric interfaces. In the , the Weights and Measures Act 1985 consolidates regulations allowing both imperial and metric units for weights and measures, defining imperial units such as the hundredweight in terms of their metric equivalents to ensure compatibility. However, subsequent regulations implementing EU-derived standards, including the Units of Measurement Regulations 1995, establish metric units as the primary legal measures for trade and retail, with imperial units like the hundredweight permitted only as supplementary indications alongside mandatory metric labeling. Exclusive use of non-metric units in can incur fines under these provisions, rendering the hundredweight optional but subordinate in commercial contexts. Post-Brexit explorations of reviving imperial units in 2022 did not lead to changes, with the confirming metric as primary in 2023 amid public preference for it. In the United States, the promotes voluntary without imposing a federal mandate, preserving the legal status of customary units including the short hundredweight for commerce and industry. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standardizes the short hundredweight at 100 pounds (45.359237 kg) in its handbooks, such as Handbook 133, enabling its use in packaging, labeling, and transactions across all states. While some states like have pursued legislation favoring metric units—such as proposed bills in the to require metric in state contracts—the short hundredweight remains legally viable nationwide without prohibition. Internationally, the European Union's Council Directive 80/181/EEC of 1979, as amended (notably by Directive 89/617/EEC and later updates), mandates the (SI) as the exclusive legal framework for measurements in economic, , , and administrative purposes, phasing out primary use of non-SI units like the hundredweight by 1989 (with possible extensions by Member States) and allowing supplementary indications only under specific conditions. In nations, metrication efforts have led to the hundredweight's obsolescence; completed its transition by 1981 under the 1970, prohibiting non-metric units in trade and rendering imperial weights illegal for official use. Similarly, halted mandatory metrication in 1985 after initial adoption in 1970, but the hundredweight has been largely supplanted by metric tonnes and kilograms in regulated commerce. The International Organization for Standardization's ISO 1000:1992 recommends SI units for global consistency, discouraging non-SI units such as the hundredweight except in historical or specialized contexts to avoid confusion in .

References

  1. https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2019/02/06/appb-19-hb44-final.pdf
  2. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-33eb511e45be1186a6741e729bbe4455/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-33eb511e45be1186a6741e729bbe4455.pdf
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  8. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/hundredweight
  9. https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2024/01/14/NIST%20HB%2044%202024%20Appendix%20C%20General%20Tables%20of%20Units%20of%20Measurement.pdf
  10. https://www.nist.gov/document/appc-20-hb44finalpdf
  11. https://www.lakecountyohio.gov/auditor/document/a-practical-guide-to-weights-and-measures/
  12. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=83403&section=1.2.2
  13. https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/publications/41880/33132_ah697_002.pdf?v=69466
  14. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0014498369900515/pdf?md5=d0979519094fb53a5c417fc0946b215f&pid=1-s2.0-0014498369900515-main.pdf
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  22. https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/bulletin/01/nbsbulletinv1n3p365_A2b.pdf
  23. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/72/schedule/1
  24. http://ia601606.us.archive.org/25/items/britishweightsme00watsuoft/britishweightsme00watsuoft.pdf
  25. https://archive.org/download/bub_gb_0l_k-XMIiQIC/bub_gb_0l_k-XMIiQIC.pdf
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