the system of weights based on a pound of 16 ounces, widely used in English-speaking countries 常衡(以磅为基本单位的衡制) Word OriginMiddle English (denoting merchandise sold by weight): from Old French aveir de peis ‘goods of weight’, from aveir ‘to have’ (infinitive used as a noun, from Latin habere) + peis ‘weight’ from an alteration of Latin pensum ‘weight’, from the verb pendere ‘weigh’.