pound

Etymology 1

From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *pend-, *spend- (“to pull, stretch”). Cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Danish pund and Swedish pund. Doublet of pood.

noun

1. A unit of weight">weight in various measurement systems
   1. Ellipsis of pound weight">weight.
   2. The translated name of various non-English units of measure
2. A unit of mass">mass in various measurement systems
   1. Ellipsis of pound mass">mass.
   2. The translated name of various non-English units of measure
   3. A unit of mass equal to 16 avoirdupois ounces (= 453.592 g). Today this value is the most common meaning of "pound" as a unit of weight.
      Research shows that retaining even one or two pounds after giving birth can make problems more likely in a subsequent pregnancy, experts said, with women who have several children facing a "slippery slope" if they continue to gain weight each time. 28 July 2010, Rachel Williams, “Mothers who lose weight before further pregnancy ‘reduce risks’”, in The Guardian
   4. A unit of mass equal to 12 troy ounces (≈ 373.242 g). Today, this is a common unit of mass when measuring precious metals, and is little used elsewhere.
3. A unit of force">force in various measurement systems
   1. Ellipsis of pound force">force.
   2. The translated name of various non-English units of measure
   3. (informal, non-scientific) Short for pound-force.
4. A unit of currency in various currency systems
   1. The translated name of various non-English units of currency
   2. The unit of currency used in the United Kingdom and its dependencies. It is divided into 100 pence. Symbol £.
      "Only a hundred and ninety-three pound," said Mr. Tulliver. "You've brought less o' late; but young fellows like to have their own way with their money. Though I didn't do as I liked before I was of age." He spoke with rather timid discontent. 1860, George Eliot, chapter 6, in The Mill on the Floss, book 5
      For students in developing countries who can't get it any other way, or for students in the first world, who can but may choose not to. Pay thousands of pounds a year for your education? Or get it free online? November 11 2012, Carole Cadwalladr, “Do online courses spell the end for the traditional university?”, in Observer
   3. Any of various units of currency used in Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria, and formerly in the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Israel and South Africa.
   4. Any of various units of currency formerly used in the United States.
      the Rhode Island pound; the New Hampshire pound
      He knocked out cans of warm cola at two pound fifty a time. 2010, Steven Field, Dusty's Fort, page 33
5. (US) The symbol # (octothorpe, hash, number sign)

verb

1. (slang, dated, transitive) To wager a pound on.
   Good-bye, my dear!' said Sleary. 'You'll make your fortun, I hope, and none of our poor folkth will ever trouble you, I'll pound it. 1854, Dickens, chapter 4, in Hard Times

Etymology 2

From Middle English pounde, ponde, pund, from Old English pund (“an enclosure”), related to Old English pyndan (“to enclose, shut up, dam, impound”). Compare also Old English pynd (“a cistern, lake”).

noun

1. A place for the detention of stray or wandering animals.
   Mr. Sarnoff also sent to the pound one of the best-known dogs in the world. Nipper, the black-and-white terrier usually depicted peering with head cocked into the horn of a Victrola, listening for “His Master's Voice,” was de-emphasized as a corporate symbol. 1997-02-24, N. R. Kleinfield, “Robert Sarnoff, 78, RCA Chairman, Dies”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
2. (metonymically) The people who work for the pound.
   (Police officer to a dog owner) "He'd better stay calm or I'll have the pound come and get him." 2002, 00:27:30 from the start, in 25th Hour
3. (UK) A place for the detention of automobiles that have been illegally parked, abandoned, etc.
   Inspector Douglas Todd: Where did you get a truckload of cigarettes from anyway? / Detective Axel Foley: From the Dearborn Hijacking. / Todd: The Dearborn Hijacking? That bust went down weeks ago. That load's supposed to be in the damn pound! 1984, Beverly Hills Cop, Paramount Pictures
4. A section of a canal between two adjacent locks.
5. A kind of fishing net, having a large enclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward.
   Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
6. (Newfoundland) A division inside a fishing stage where cod is cured in salt brine.

verb

1. To confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound.
   When I short haue shorne my sowce face & swigg’d my horny barrell, In an oaken Inne I pound my skin as a suite of guilt apparrell c. 1620, anonymous, “Tom o’ Bedlam’s Song” in Giles Earle his Booke (British Museum, Additional MSS. 24, 665)
   And he who were pleasantly disposed, could not well avoid to liken it to the exploit of that gallant man, who thought to pound up the crows by shutting his park gate. 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England

Etymology 3

From an alteration of earlier poun, pown, from Middle English pounen, from Old English pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūn- (“broken pieces, rubble”). Related to Saterland Frisian Pün (“debris, fragments”), West Frisian pún (“debris, rubble”), Dutch puin (“debris, fragments, rubbish”), Low German pun (“fragments”).

verb

1. (transitive) To strike hard, usually repeatedly.
   She had Lord James' collar in one big fist and she pounded the table with the other and talked a blue streak. Nobody could make out plain what she said, for she was mainly jabbering Swede lingo, but there was English enough, of a kind, to give us some idee. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 12, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   … and on the Saturday heavy seas pounded the W.R. on its exposed coastal stretch between Dawlish and Teignmouth, loosening the ballast and forcing trains to proceed with extreme caution. 1960 December, “Talking of Trains: The railways and the Devon floods”, in Trains Illustrated, page 709
   I pounded on a farmhouse / Lookin' for a place to stay / I was mighty, mighty tired / I had come a long, long way 1964, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Motorpsycho Nitemare”
2. (transitive) To crush to pieces; to pulverize.
   Pound an onion, warm a spoonful of ghee and throw in the onion, brown it slightly, add your curry stuff, brown this till it smells pleasantly, […] 1887, Indian Cookery "Local" for Young Housekeepers: Second Edition, page 67
   It was the hour before the first crowing of the cocks, and along with Nyo Boto and Grandma Yaisa's clattering, the first sound the child heard was the muted, rhythmic bombpabombpabomp of wooden pestles as the other women of the village pounded couscous grain in their mortars, preparing the traditional breakfast of porridge that was cooked in earthen pots over a fire built among three rocks. 1976, Alex Haley, chapter 1, in Roots: The Saga of an American Family
3. (transitive, slang) To eat or drink very quickly.
   You really pounded that beer!
   The sounds of a house-party rolled down the street / So we pounded our Pilsner and leapt to our feet 2007, “Fire Marshall Willy”, performed by The Dreadnoughts
4. (transitive, baseball, slang) To pitch consistently to a certain location.
   The pitcher has been pounding the outside corner all night.
5. (intransitive, of a body part, generally heart, blood, or head) To beat strongly or throb.
   As I tiptoed past the sleeping dog, my heart was pounding but I remained silent.
   My head was pounding.
   It was now about three o’clock in the morning and Francis Macomber, who had been asleep a little while after he had stopped thinking about the lion, wakened and then slept again, woke suddenly, frightened in a dream of the bloody-headed lion standing over him, and listening while his heart pounded, he realized that his wife was not in the other cot in the tent. 1936, Ernest Hemingway, The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber
6. (transitive, vulgar, slang) To penetrate sexually, with vigour.
   I was pounding her all night!
   She acting, so I'm attacking, try break the mattress / Sexy, so I suggested to switch to sideways / Pounded for 'bout a hour she said she tired 2008, Gucci Mane (lyrics and music), “Bachelor Pad”, in The Movie
7. To advance heavily with measured steps.
8. (engineering) To make a jarring noise, as when running.
   The engine pounds.

noun

1. A hard blow.