Login
Login

approximate measures

{{short description|Unregulated volume units still in use}}

Approximate measures are units of volumetric measurement which are not defined by a government or government-sanctioned organization, or which were previously defined and are now repealed, yet which remain in use.{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of Weights and Measures for the British Isles |date=1985 |location=Philadelphia |isbn=9780871691682 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0l_k-XMIiQIC|access-date=2016-09-23|last1=Zupko |first1=Ronald Edward }}{{cite book|title=The Rower's Almanac 2006-2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrqMzXVKU6UC&pg=PA379|publisher=The Rowers Almanac Inc|isbn=978-0-9651327-6-3|page=379}}{{cite web|title=Old Cooking Definitions |date=31 May 2012 |url=http://preparednessadvice.com/recipes/old-cooking-definitions/#.V-SuR00rJdh}}

It may be that all English-unit derived capacity measurements are derived from one original approximate measurement: the mouthful, consisting of about {{frac|1|2}} ounce, called the ro in ancient Egypt (their smallest recognized unit of capacity).{{cite book |author1=Swapna Mukhopadhyay |author2=Wolff-Michael Roth|title=Alternative Forms of Knowing (In) Mathematics|date=28 December 2012 |publisher=Springer|page=265|isbn=9789460919213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XdJEAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA265|access-date=30 October 2016|quote=Who would have thought that the units of measure "the pint" and "the quart" are based on "the mouthful" (Klein, 1974, The World of Measurements: Masterpieces, Mysteries, and Muddles of Metrology.).}}{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Hilary|title=Understanding Hieroglyphs: A Complete Introductory Guide|year=2003 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books|location=New York|isbn=0-7607-3858-0|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IpuytfjUuLAC&pg=PA165|access-date=30 October 2016|quote=The smallest recognized unit of volume was the ro, a mouthful. It was reckoned that five mouthfuls made one sixty-fourth of a heqat so there were 320 ro to one heqat.}} The mouthful was still a unit of liquid measure during Elizabethan times.{{cite book|last1=Klein|first1=Herbert Arthur|title=The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey|date=1974|publisher=Dover Publications, Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-486-25839-4|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CrmuSiCFyikC&pg=PA34|access-date=30 October 2016|language=en|quote=A fairly clear line of descent has thus been traced from the jigger, or handful, of Elizabethan England to the customary unit for dispensing the "firewater" that is the most prevalent drug used in our own time and culture, nearly four centuries later. In the United States the half jigger, sometimes called a pony, is half again the Elizabethan mouthful.}} (The principal Egyptian standards from small to large were the ro, hin, hekat, and khar.){{cite book|last1=Selin|first1=Helaine|title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures|date=1997|isbn=0-7923-4066-3|page=1013|publisher=Springer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raKRY3KQspsC&pg=PA1013}}

Because of the lack of official definitions, many of these units will not have a consistent value.

United Kingdom

| last =Oldberg

| first =Oscar

| title =A Manual of Weights and Measures

| publisher =University of Wisconsin

| edition =Second Edition, Revised.

| date =1887

| location =Madison, Wisconsin

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=2VzzAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA227

}}

  • teacupful = about 4 fl oz
  • wineglassful = about 2 fl oz
  • tablespoonful = about 1/2 fl oz
  • dessertspoonful = about 2 fl dr
  • teaspoonful = about 1 fl dr
  • drop = about minim
  • teacupful (5 fl oz, or 1 gill ibid)
  • wineglassful (2-1/2 fl oz or 1/2 gill or 1/2 teacupful or 1/4 tumblerful)
  • dessertspoonful (1/4 fl oz or 2 fl dr and equal to 2 teaspoonful or 1/2 tablespoonful)
  • teaspoonful (1/8 fl oz or 1 fl dr and also equal to 1/2 dessertspoonful or 1/4 tablespoonful)

United States

The vagueness of how these measures have been defined, redefined, and undefined over the years, both through written and oral history, is best exemplified by the large number of sources that need to be read and cross-referenced in order to paint even a reasonably accurate picture. So far, the list includes the United States Pharmacopoeia,{{cite book|title=A Companion to the United States Pharmacopoeia |publisher=W. Wood |last=Oldberg |first=Oscar |date=1884 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/acompaniontouni00wallgoog/page/n1135 1122]|url=https://archive.org/details/acompaniontouni00wallgoog}}{{cite book|title=United States Pharmacopoeia, Eighth Decennial Revision (1907) |date=1907 |pages=lvi |url=https://archive.org/stream/pharmacopoeiaun01convgoog#page/n64/mode/2up}}{{cite journal

| title =The Approximate Measures of the U. S. P.

| publisher = American Pharmaceutical Association

| journal = Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association at the Fifty-Third Annual Meeting

| volume = 53

| date =1905

| location =Baltimore, M.D.

| pages =301

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=13MCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA301

}} U.S. FDA,{{cite web|title=FDA Investigations Operations Manual 2016 Appendix D|website=Food and Drug Administration |date=2016|url=https://www.fda.gov/downloads/ICECI/Inspections/IOM/UCM123517.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709201908/http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ICECI/Inspections/IOM/UCM123517.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 9, 2009 }} NIST,{{cite web|title=NIST Special Publication 430 |date=March 1978 |publisher=National Bureau of Standards (U.S.) |url=https://archive.org/stream/householdweights430nati#page/n0/mode/2up|access-date=2016-09-28}}{{cite journal |title=NIST Special Publication 1038:The International System of Units (SI) Conversion Factors for General Use |date=2006 |pages=10 |url=https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pml/wmd/metric/SP1038.pdf |access-date=2016-09-26 |archive-date=2017-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005202602/https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pml/wmd/metric/SP1038.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal|title=NIST Handbook 133: Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods |date=2016 |pages=176|url=https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pml/wmd/pubs/2015/12/17/h133-16-final2.pdf}} A Manual of Weights, Measures, and Specific Gravity,{{cite book|title=A Manual of Weights, Measures, and Specific Gravity |publisher=author [C. J. Johnson, printer] |last=Oldberg |first=Oscar |date=1885 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/amanualweightsm00oldbgoog/page/n137 124] |url=https://archive.org/details/amanualweightsm00oldbgoog|access-date=2016-09-28}} State Board Questions and Answers,{{cite book|title=State board questions and answers |publisher=Saunders |last=Goepp |first=Rudolph Max |date=1908 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/stateboardquest02goepgoog/page/n17 13] |url=https://archive.org/details/stateboardquest02goepgoog|access-date=2016-09-28}} MediCalc,{{cite web|title=Household Measures Conversion |url=http://www.scymed.com/en/smnxxp/smnxxp.htm|access-date=2016-09-28}} MacKenzie's Ten Thousand Receipts,{{cite book|title=MacKenzie's Ten Thousand Receipts |last=MacKenzie |first=Colin |date=July 2008 |pages=241 |publisher=Applewood Books |isbn=9781429011037 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pP-nXEWI_HkC&pg=PA241|access-date=2016-09-28}} Approximate Practical Equivalents,{{cite web|title=MPR The Right Dose of Information |date=21 July 2015 |url=http://www.empr.com/clinical-charts/approximate-practical-equivalents/article/123355/|access-date=2016-09-28}} When is a Cup not a Cup?,{{cite web|title=When is a Cup not a Cup? |last=Mescher |first=Virginia |date=2006|url=http://www.raggedsoldier.com/measurments.pdf|access-date=2016-09-28}} Cook's Info,{{cite web|title=Measuring Spoons |last=Green |first=Denzil |url=http://www.cooksinfo.com/measuring-spoons}} knitting-and.com.,{{cite web|title=Weights and Measurements in Vintage Recipes |url=http://www.knitting-and.com/recipes/convert.html}} and Modern American Drinks.{{cite book|title=Modern American Drinks: How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks |publisher=Merriam Company |last=Kappeler |first=George J. |date=1895 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/modernamericandr00kapp/page/12 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/modernamericandr00kapp}}

Dashes, pinches, and smidgens are all traditionally very small amounts well under a teaspoon, but not more uniformly defined. In the early 2000s some companies began selling measuring spoons that defined a dash as {{frac|8}} teaspoon, a pinch as {{frac|16}} teaspoon, and a smidgen as {{frac|32}} teaspoon.{{cite web |first=Russ |last=Rowlett |publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |url=http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictP.html |title=P |work=How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement |date=December 2003}}{{cite web |title=Pinch, Dash and Smidgen Measurements |url=http://www.accuracyproject.org/pinchdash.html |publisher=Internet Accuracy Project |year=2009}} Based on these spoons, there are two smidgens in a pinch and two pinches in a dash. However, the 1954 Angostura “Professional Mixing Guide” states that “a dash” is 1/6th of a teaspoon, or 1/48 of an ounce, and Victor Bergeron (a.k.a. Trader Vic, famous saloonkeeper), said that for bitters it was {{frac|1|8}} teaspoon, but {{frac|1|4}} fl oz for all other liquids.{{cite web|title=sizes |url=https://sizes.com/units/dash.htm|access-date=2016-09-28}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
colspan="8" style="background: #cccccc" | Fluid Measures
Unit

! Abbrev.

! Definition 1
(c. 1885)

! Definition 2
(c. 1905)

! Definition 3
(c. 1975)

! Definition 4
(c. 2015)

! Traditional Binary
Submultiple Fl. Oz.

! Binary Submultiples

hint

|

|

|

|

|align=left | {{frac|1|128}} tsp{{cite web |title=A dash, pinch, and smidgen may be small amounts but they are still measurable cooking units |url=http://www.festibrate.com/season/dash-pinch-and-smidgen/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001192509/http://www.festibrate.com/season/dash-pinch-and-smidgen/ |archive-date=2016-10-01 |url-status=dead }}

|align=right | {{frac|1|1024}}

|align=left |2 hints = 1 drop

drop

| dr., gt., gtt.

|align=left |{{frac|1|8}} to 1{{frac|1|2}} minim or 5 centigrams

|

|

|align=left | {{frac|1|64}} tsp{{cite web|title=Mini Measuring Set |url=https://www.preparedpantry.com/mini-measuring-spoons.aspx}}

|align=right | {{frac|1|512}}

|align=left |2 drops = 1 smidgen

smidgen

| smdg.,{{rp|12}} smi.

|

|

|

|align=left |{{frac|1|32}} tsp

|align=right | {{frac|1|256}}

|align=left | 2 smidgens = 1 pinch

pinch

| pn.

|align=left |{{frac|1|8}} tsp

|

|

|align=left |{{frac|1|16}} tsp

|align=right | {{frac|1|128}}

|align=left | 2 pinches = 1 dash

dash

| ds.

|

|

|

|align=left |{{frac|1|8}} tsp

|align=right | {{frac|1|64}}

|align=left | 2 dashes = 1 saltspoon

saltspoon
(scruple-spoon,{{rp|12}} tad)

| ssp.,{{cite book|title=Domestic science, principles and application |publisher=Webb Publishing Co. |last=Bailey |first=Pearl La Verne |date=1914 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/domesticsciencep00bail/page/21 21] |url=https://archive.org/details/domesticsciencep00bail|access-date=2016-09-28}}{{cite web|title=Saltspoon |url=https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Saltspoon}} sp., scrsp.{{rp|12}}

|

|

|

|align=left |{{frac|1|4}} tsp

|align=right | {{frac|1|32}}

|align=left | 2 saltspoons = 1 coffeespoon

coffeespoon
(barspoon)

|bsp.{{cite web|title=Steelay |url=http://www.steelay.com/quest.php?&lang=en}}

|

|

|

|align=left |{{frac|1|2}} tsp

|align=right | {{frac|1|16}}

|align=left | 2 coffeespoons = 1 teaspoon

teaspoon
(kitchen spoon, splash)

| tsp. or t.

|1 fluid dram or 5 mL
most common size: 80 minims or 3 mL

|1 fluidrachm or 4 mL, or 3.75 mL
(actual range: 4.6–5.5 mL )

|{{frac|1|3}} tablespoon or {{frac|1|6}} fl oz

|1 fl dram or 5 mL, {{frac|1|6}} fl oz, 1{{frac|1|3}} fl dr

|align=right | {{frac|1|8}}

|align=left | 2 teaspoons = 1 dessertspoon

dessertspoon

| dsp., dssp. or dstspn.

|2 fluid drams or 10 mL
most common size: 2 {{frac|1|2}} fl dr or 10 mL

|2 fluidrachm or 8 mL, or 7.5 mL
(actual range: 8.4–10.4 mL )

|

|2 fl dram or 8 mL

|align=right | {{frac|1|4}}

|align=left | 2 dessertspoons = 1 tablespoon

tablespoon (mouthful)

| tbsp. or T., rarely tbls.

|{{frac|1|2}} fluid ounce or 20 mL
most common size: 5 fl dr or 20 mL

|4 fluidrachm or 16 mL, or 15 mL
(actual range: 12.8–15.6 mL )

|

|1/2 fl oz or 15 mL

|align=right | {{frac|1|2}}

|align=left | 2 tablespoons = 1 handful

handful
(fluid ounce, finger)

| m. (for manipulus){{cite web|title=Apothecaries' symbols commonly found in medical recipes|url=http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/docs/dox/medical.html|access-date=30 October 2016}}

|

|

|

|1 fl oz{{cite book|title=A Quaker Woman's Cookbook |last=Lea |first=Elizabeth Ellicott |date=1982 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9781512819250 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cINZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PR67}}{{cite news|title=How to Measure a Finger of Scotch |last=Whitehouse |first=Jordan |newspaper=Leaftv |url=https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-measure-a-finger-of-scotch/|access-date=2016-09-28}}{{cite web|title=Ask the bartender: Giving all those old bar terms the finger |last=Kenyon |first=Sean |url=http://www.westword.com/restaurants/ask-the-bartender-giving-all-those-old-bar-terms-the-finger-5747968|access-date=2016-09-28}}

|align=right | 1

|align=left | 2 handfuls = 1 wineglass

wineglass
(glassful)

|wgf.,

|2 fluid ounces or 60 mL, w-gl.{{rp|12}}

|

|

|

|align=right | 2

|align=left | 2 wineglasses = 1 teacup

teacup

|tcf.

|4 fluid ounces

|

|

|

|align=right | 4

|align=left |2 teacups = 1 coffeecup

coffeecup
(tumbler, kitchencup)

|

|

|

|

|8 fluid ounces

|align=right | 8

|align=left | 2 coffeecups = 1 jug

jug
(pint)

|

|

|

|

|

|align=right | 16

|align=left | 2 jugfuls = 1 pitcher

pitcher
(quart)

| ptch.

|

|

|

|

|align=right | 32

|align=left | 2 pitchers = 1 pottle

References

{{reflist}}

Category:Measurement