The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries which is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms.[1] It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is commonly used for grain prices in wholesale markets in Ethiopia and India, where 1 quintal = 100 kg.[2]
Languages drawing its cognate name for the weight from Romance languages include French, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish quintal, Italian quintale, Esperanto kvintalo, Polish kwintal. Languages taking their cognates from Germanicized centner include the German Zentner, Lithuanian centneris, Swedish centner, Polish cetnar, Russian and Ukrainian центнер (tsentner), Estonian tsentner and Spanish centena.
Many European languages have come to translate both the imperial and Americanhundredweight as their cognate form of quintal or centner.
The concept has resulted in two different series of masses: Those based on the local pound (which after metrication was considered equivalent to half a kilogram), and those uprated to being based on the kilogram.
In Albania (kuintal), Ethiopia (kuntal), and India, the 100 kilogram definition may have been introduced via Islamic[citation needed] trade. It is a standard measurement of mass for agricultural products in those countries.
In France it used to be defined as 100 livres (pounds), about 48.95 kg, and has been redefined as 100 kg (mesures usuelles), thus called metric quintal with symbol qq. In Spain, the centena is still defined as 100 libras, or about 46 kg, but the metric quintal is also defined as 100 kg;[3] In Portugal a quintal is 128 arráteis or about 58.75 kg.
The German Zentner and the Danish Centner are pound-based, and thus since metrication are defined as 50 kg, whereas the Austrian and Swiss Zentner since metrication has been re-defined as 100 kg. In Germany a measure of 100 kg is named a Doppelzentner.
Common agricultural units used in the Soviet Union were the 100-kilogram centner (центнер) and the term "centner per hectare". These are still used by countries that were part of the Soviet Union.
English use
In English both terms quintal and centner were once alternative names for the hundredweight and thus defined either as 100 lb (exactly 45.359237 kg) or as 112 lb (50.80 kg). Also, in the Dominican Republic it is about 125 lb (56.70 kg). The German Zentner was introduced to the English language via Hanseatic trade as a measure of the weight of certain crops including hops for beer production. Commonly used in the Dominion (and later province) of Newfoundland up until the 1960s as a measure for 112 lb (51 kg) of salt cod.
The quintal was defined in the United States in 1866[4] as 100 kilograms. However, it is no longer used in the United States or by NIST, though it still appears in the statute.[5]
In France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Indonesia and in India, it is still in daily use by farmers. In Brazil and other South American countries, it is used under its alternative spelling of kintal. It is also used in some African countries including Angola.[6]
^Rowlett, Russ (2018). "How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement". ibiblio. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
^"Metric System of Measurement: Interpretation of the International System of Units for the United States", Federal Register notice of July 28, 1998, 63 F.R. 40333 (PDF). NIST. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
^"The use of Quintal for weight measurements". Sizes: the online quantinary. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
March 08, 2023
quintal, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, schol. For other uses see Quintal disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Quintal news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries which is usually defined as 100 base units such as pounds or kilograms 1 It is a traditional unit of weight in France Portugal and Spain and their former colonies It is commonly used for grain prices in wholesale markets in Ethiopia and India where 1 quintal 100 kg 2 In British English it referred to the hundredweight in American English it formerly referred to an uncommon measure of 100 kilograms Languages drawing its cognate name for the weight from Romance languages include French Portuguese Romanian and Spanish quintal Italian quintale Esperanto kvintalo Polish kwintal Languages taking their cognates from Germanicized centner include the German Zentner Lithuanian centneris Swedish centner Polish cetnar Russian and Ukrainian centner tsentner Estonian tsentner and Spanish centena Many European languages have come to translate both the imperial and American hundredweight as their cognate form of quintal or centner Contents 1 Name 2 English use 3 See also 4 ReferencesName EditThe concept has resulted in two different series of masses Those based on the local pound which after metrication was considered equivalent to half a kilogram and those uprated to being based on the kilogram In Albania kuintal Ethiopia kuntal and India the 100 kilogram definition may have been introduced via Islamic citation needed trade It is a standard measurement of mass for agricultural products in those countries In France it used to be defined as 100 livres pounds about 48 95 kg and has been redefined as 100 kg mesures usuelles thus called metric quintal with symbol qq In Spain the centena is still defined as 100 libras or about 46 kg but the metric quintal is also defined as 100 kg 3 In Portugal a quintal is 128 arrateis or about 58 75 kg The German Zentner and the Danish Centner are pound based and thus since metrication are defined as 50 kg whereas the Austrian and Swiss Zentner since metrication has been re defined as 100 kg In Germany a measure of 100 kg is named a Doppelzentner Common agricultural units used in the Soviet Union were the 100 kilogram centner centner and the term centner per hectare These are still used by countries that were part of the Soviet Union English use EditIn English both terms quintal and centner were once alternative names for the hundredweight and thus defined either as 100 lb exactly 45 359237 kg or as 112 lb 50 80 kg Also in the Dominican Republic it is about 125 lb 56 70 kg The German Zentner was introduced to the English language via Hanseatic trade as a measure of the weight of certain crops including hops for beer production Commonly used in the Dominion and later province of Newfoundland up until the 1960s as a measure for 112 lb 51 kg of salt cod The quintal was defined in the United States in 1866 4 as 100 kilograms However it is no longer used in the United States or by NIST though it still appears in the statute 5 In France Italy Poland the Czech Republic Slovakia Indonesia and in India it is still in daily use by farmers In Brazil and other South American countries it is used under its alternative spelling of kintal It is also used in some African countries including Angola 6 See also EditHundredweight ZentnerReferences Edit Rowlett Russ 2018 How Many A Dictionary of Units of Measurement ibiblio University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Retrieved 25 March 2020 Quintal Merriam Webster Dictionary Merriam Webster Dictionary Retrieved 20 June 2017 Real Academia Espanola s definition of quintal Act of July 28 1866 codified in 15 U S C 205 Metric System of Measurement Interpretation of the International System of Units for the United States Federal Register notice of July 28 1998 63 F R 40333 Metric System of Measurement Interpretation of the International System of Units for the United States Notice PDF NIST Archived from the original PDF on September 30 2006 Retrieved September 28 2006 The use of Quintal for weight measurements Sizes the online quantinary Retrieved 25 July 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Quintal amp oldid 1140391057, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
