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Pound

4 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a unit of weight (about 454 g); the currency of the United Kingdom

Where does the word "pound" come from? It comes from Latin pondo, passing through West Germanic and Old English before entering English (1200s).

pondo→*pund→pund→pound

Latin · classical

'by weight', from the phrase libra pondo 'a pound by weight'; libra gives the £ sign and the abbreviation lb

West Germanic · ancient

borrowed along the Roman frontier; German Pfund and Dutch pond come from the same loan

Old English · medieval

"pound of weight or money"

King Offa of Mercia's reform of the late 700s followed Charlemagne's new standard of 240 silver pennies to the pound, the basis of the pound sterling

English · 1200s

"unit of weight and money"

the 240-penny pound lasted until British decimalisation on 15 February 1971

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Pound’s story begins in Latin: pondo meant “by weight.” 'by weight', from the phrase libra pondo 'a pound by weight'; libra gives the £ sign and the abbreviation lb. By ancient, the word had taken hold in West Germanic as *pund. Borrowed along the Roman frontier; German Pfund and Dutch pond come from the same loan. From there it passed into Old English as pund by medieval. King Offa of Mercia's reform of the late 700s followed Charlemagne's new standard of 240 silver pennies to the pound, the basis of the pound sterling. It reached English by 1200s as pound. The 240-penny pound lasted until British decimalisation on 15 February 1971. Today, pound means a unit of weight (about 454 g); the currency of the United Kingdom.