gross (unit)

{{Short description|Group of 144; a dozen dozen}}

In English and related languages, several terms involving the words "great" or "gross" relate to numbers involving a multiple of exponents of twelve (dozen):

• A gross refers to a group of 144 items (a dozen dozen or a square dozen, 12²).
• A great gross refers to a group of 1,728 items (a dozen gross or a cubic dozen, 12³).{{citation|title=The Words of Mathematics: An Etymological Dictionary of Mathematical Terms Used in English|first=Steven|last=Schwartzman|publisher=Mathematical Association of America|year=1996|isbn=9780883855119|pages=100–101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRw4PevE4zUC&pg=PA10}}.{{citation|title=The Universal Book of Mathematics: From Abracadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes|first=David|last=Darling|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2004|isbn=9780471270478|page=140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnpChqstvg0C&pg=PA140}}.
• A small gross{{citation|title=The New Century Book of Facts: A Handbook of Ready Reference|first=Carroll Davidson|last=Wright|publisher=King-Richardson Company|year=1910|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnBMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA462|page=462}}. or a great hundred{{citation|title=The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers|first=David|last=Wells|edition=3rd|publisher=Penguin|year=1997|isbn=9780140261493|page=66|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQRPkTkk_VIC&pg=PA66}}. refers to a group of 120 items (ten dozen, 10×12).

The term can be abbreviated gr. or gro., and dates from the early 15th century. It derives from the Old French grosse douzaine, meaning "large dozen”.{{citation|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/gross|title = Gross | Origin and meaning of gross by Online Etymology Dictionary}} The continued use of these terms in measurement and counting represents the duodecimal number system.{{citation|title=Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers|first=Jan|last=Gullberg|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=1997|isbn=9780393040029|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicsfromb1997gull}}. This has led groups such as the Dozenal Society of America to advocate for wider use of "gross" and related terms instead of the decimal system.{{citation|title=Mathematical Cranks|title-link=Mathematical Cranks|first=Underwood|last=Dudley|authorlink=Underwood Dudley|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=9780883855072|at=[https://books.google.com/books?id=HqeoWPsIH6EC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA22 p. 22]}}.{{citation|title=Dozenalists of the world unite! Rise up against the tyranny of ten!|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2012-12-12|first=Alex|last=Bellos|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/alexs-adventures-in-numberland/2012/dec/12/dozenalists-world-unite-tyranny-ten}}.