Re: Numbers from 1-10

At 15:07 1.9.2003 -0400, John Cowan wrote:
>Tristan McLeay scripsit:
>
> > OTOH, I think 'hundred' used to be applicable to anything b/n 100 and 120,
> > hence the English fakemeasurement called the hundredweight (I think it's
> > 120 pounds, but for all I know it could've been 120 stone). Of course,
> > Americans decided to confuse the Brits and made it 100 of whatever it was,
>
>When the stone was changed from 12.5 to 14 lb in 1340, the hundredweight
>(100 lb = 8 stone) was automatically changed to 112 (not 120) lb.
>http://www.sizes.com/units/hundredweight.htm gives the details.
>
>"Hundred" has never meant anything but 100 except in that one context.
I doubt that.  In Old Norse 120 was regularly known as _stórhundrad_
'big hundred'.  A noun, of course.

/BP 8^)
--
B.Philip Jonsson mailto:melrochX@melroch.se (delete X)
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