Letters to WB

That WAS a Good Question!

On July 15, Paul Castle of CBC Radio's Information Morning in Saint John, New Brunswick, called our very own Origins Guy, James Watson, as part of the That's a Good Question feature. A listener asked: "Why is it that pounds are abbreviated 'lb.' and likewise, why are ounces abbreviated 'oz.'" Here is James's reply:

What's your sign? See, I don't know much about Latin beyond the signs of the zodiac. If you were born after September 23, you'd be a Libra. Libra is the Latin word for "scales." The ancient Romans also had a unit of measurement called a libra, that eventually became known in English as the pound. However, we kept the Latin for the abbreviation, "lb."

"Ounces" also comes from Latin — the word uncia. This means one twelfth, as in one twelfth of a pound. The word "inch," one twelfth of a foot, also comes from this Latin word. The word evolved into the Italian word onza, which is where the abbreviation "oz." comes from.

Of course, we trace our linguistic heritage to England. In the 1400s England traded with Italy quite a bit in wool, and that's probably why we adopted a more international flavour to our abbreviations for weight.

You'll find a few other abbreviations in English that come from Latin, although I can't think of any others for measurements. There's "e.g.," for example, which doesn't stand for "eggsample" but for the Latin phrase exempli gratia.

James R. Watson, Origins Guy

Are You Curious?

Dear WB:

I am trying to find the origin of "curiosity killed the cat." Is there any way I can find that on your site?

Roy Peled

Well, Roy, nothing very interesting here. "Curiosity killed the cat" is a common American proverb first recorded around 1909. No cute story, no songs, no strange meanings. I did find that the expression can be written as "Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back." Not that you'd want a dead cat brought back, but I suppose the two parts to the expression are meant to be exclusive. 

James R. Watson, Origins Guy