What is "apothecaries' weight"

Apothecary \A*poth"e*ca*ry\, n.; pl. Apothecaries. [OE. apotecarie, fr. LL. apothecarius, fr. L. apotheca storehouse, Gr. apo, fr. ? to put away; ? from + ? to put: cf. F. apothicaire, OF. apotecaire. See Thesis.] One who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes.

Note: In England an apothecary is one of a privileged class of practitioners -- a kind of sub-physician. The surgeon apothecary is the ordinary family medical attendant. One who sells drugs and makes up prescriptions is now commonly called in England a druggist or a pharmaceutical chemist.

Apothecaries' weight, the system of weights by which medical prescriptions were formerly compounded. The pound and ounce are the same as in Troy weight; they differ only in the manner of subdivision. The ounce is divided into 8 drams, 24 scruples, 480 grains. See Troy weight.

n. any weight unit used in pharmacy; an ounce is equal to 480 grains and a pound is equal to 12 ounces [syn: apothecaries' unit]