Stone

The stone is a unit of measure, which in practice is usually a mass of about 6.35 kilograms. It ceased to be legal for trade in United Kingdom in 1985, was defined in British legislation as being a weight or mass [sic] equal to 14 [avoirdupois] pounds. It was also formerly used in several Commonwealth countries. Eight stones make a hundredweight in the Imperial system. Given its imprecise definition, it is arguable whether one should use kilogram... more

The stone is a unit of measure, which in practice is usually a mass of about 6.35 kilograms. It ceased to be legal for trade in United Kingdom in 1985, was defined in British legislation as being a weight or mass [sic] equal to 14 [avoirdupois] pounds. It was also formerly used in several Commonwealth countries. Eight stones make a hundredweight in the Imperial system. Given its imprecise definition, it is arguable whether one should use kilograms (a mass) or newtons (a weight/force) as the equivalent SI unit. The stone was originally used for weighing agricultural commodities. Historically the number of pounds in a stone varied by commodity, and was not the same in all times and places even for one commodity. Potatoes, for example, were traditionally sold in stone and half-stone (14-pound and 7-pound) quantities but the OED contains examples including: Another example is the definition of the "stone" in the 1772 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica which reads, "STONE also denotes a... less