Why is pounds abbreviated- lbs. ?

Question

Why is pounds abbreviated- lbs. ?

Answer 1

The Latin word for "pound" is "librum" abbreviated lb. The plural Latin abbreviation is "lbs."

Answer 2

because ounce abbreviated oz

Answer 3

[Q] From Andrea: “Why are pounds, when used as a weight, abbreviated lbs?”

[A] The origin is in the Latin word libra, which could mean both balance scales (hence the symbol for the astrological sign Libra, which was named after a constellation that was thought to resemble scales) and also a pound weight, for which the full expression was libra pondo, the second word being the origin of our pound.

Answer 4

The Latin words libra pondo describe a Roman unit of weight similar to a pound.

The abbreviation "lb" for a unit of weight is derived from the Latin word libra.

The word "pound" itself comes from the Latin pendere, to weigh, while libra meant �scales and balances�

�lb� is singular (one pound) and �lbs� is plural as in pounds of weight.  

Answer 5

The word pound comes from the Latin word pendere, meaning "to weigh". The Latin word libra means "scales, balances" and it also describes a Roman unit similar to the pound-force. This is the origin of the abbreviation "lb" for the pound.