ProbableNamed from the place
troy ounce
noun · first attested Middle English
Gold is priced in an ounce named for a French market town, not ancient Troy.
The unit of about 31.1 grams used for weighing gold, silver and other precious metals.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- Middle English
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Troyes
- In English
troy ounce
The weight is generally traced to the medieval trade fairs at Troyes in Champagne, where merchants from across Europe needed one agreed standard. That link is the conventional account rather than a documented one, and rival derivations pointing at English towns have been proposed and largely dismissed.
Also pinned to Troyes
2 more from the same place
France
All 57 entries 54 more words from France
denimThe cloth is named for Nîmes, not for jeans.NîmesbayonetThe blade is traditionally tied to a port in the Basque country.BayonnechampagneThe drink is a place-name first, a party word second.ChampagnecognacThe brandy is the town’s name in a glass.CognaccayenneThe heat is named for a capital on the Atlantic coast of South America.CayennelimousineThe luxury car is named for a cloak from Limousin.LimogesroquefortThe blue cheese is a village in the Aveyron.Roquefort-sur-SoulzoncamembertThe cheese is a Norman village.Camembert