*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ounce

From Middle English ounce, unce, from Middle French once, from Latin ū̆ncia (“Roman ounce, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of a, one, inch, uncia, onça, onza, oka, oug

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

An avoirdupois ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₆ of an avoirdupois pound, or 28.349523125 grams. · A troy ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₂ of a troy pound, or 480 grains, or 31.1034768 grams. · A US fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₁₆ of a US pint, 1.804688 cubic inches or 29.5735295625 millilitres. · A British imperial fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₂₀ of an imperial pint, 1.733871 cubic inches or 28.4130625 millilitres.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English ounce, unce, from Middle French once, from Latin ū̆ncia (“Roman ounce, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Doublet of a, one, inch, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionounceenm
  • Derivation mentiononcefrm
  • Derivation mentionū̆nciala · Roman ounce, various similar units
  • Derivation mention*óynosine-pro
  • Doublet mentionaen
  • Doublet mentiononeen
  • Doublet mentioninchen
  • Doublet mentionunciaen
  • Doublet mentiononçaen
  • Doublet mentiononzaen
  • Doublet mentionokaen
  • Doublet mentionouguiyaen
  • Doublet mentionawqiyyahen

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ounce"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ounce"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "once"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French once"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ū̆ncia",
        "t": "Roman ounce, various similar units"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ū̆ncia (“Roman ounce, various similar units”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*óynos",
        "4": "",
        "5": "one"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a",
        "3": "one",
        "4": "inch",
        "5": "uncia",
        "6": "onça",
        "7": "onza",
        "8": "oka",
        "9": "ouguiya",
        "10": "awqiyyah"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of a, one, inch, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ounce",
      "ounce#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "unce",
      "unce#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "once",
      "once#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "ū̆ncia",
      "uncia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Roman",
      "Roman"
    ],
    [
      "various",
      "various"
    ],
    [
      "similar",
      "similar"
    ],
    [
      "unit",
      "unit"
    ],
    [
      "*óynos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/óynos"
    ],
    [
      "one",
      "one"
    ],
    [
      "a",
      "a#English"
    ],
    [
      "one",
      "one#English"
    ],
    [
      "inch",
      "inch#English"
    ],
    [
      "uncia",
      "uncia#English"
    ],
    [
      "onça",
      "onça#English"
    ],
    [
      "onza",
      "onza#English"
    ],
    [
      "oka",
      "oka#English"
    ],
    [
      "ouguiya",
      "ouguiya#English"
    ],
    [
      "awqiyyah",
      "awqiyyah#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Tokelauan",
      "lang_code": "tkl",
      "word": "aunehe",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An avoirdupois ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₆ of an avoirdupois pound, or 28.349523125 grams.",
        "A troy ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₂ of a troy pound, or 480 grains, or 31.1034768 grams.",
        "A US fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₁₆ of a US pint, 1.804688 cubic inches or 29.5735295625 millilitres.",
        "A British imperial fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₂₀ of an imperial pint, 1.733871 cubic inches or 28.4130625 millilitres."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "00088d4d7d64a60d2270eebac04d1337c1c429ceab302d81cbf261f3e232810d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0f08bcd3d59c12ef0ac1857398ca42fe5372680a29fdacc001e5206f13cf5b7c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 255104
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A large wild feline, such as a lynx or cougar. · Synonym of snow leopard, Panthera uncia. · Synonym of onza, a particularly aggressive cougar or jaguarundi in Mexican folklore.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle French once, from Old French lonce (“lynx”), by false division (the l was thought to be the article), from Italian lonza, ultimately from Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx, “lynx”). Doublet of onza and lynx.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "once"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French once"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "lonce",
        "4": "",
        "5": "lynx"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French lonce (“lynx”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "lonza"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian lonza"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "λύγξ",
        "t": "lynx"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx, “lynx”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "onza#Etymology_2",
        "3": "lynx"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of onza and lynx"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "once",
      "once#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "lonce",
      "lonce#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "lonza",
      "lonza#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "λύγξ",
      "λύγξ#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "onza",
      "onza#Etymology_2"
    ],
    [
      "lynx",
      "lynx#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A large wild feline, such as a lynx or cougar.",
        "Synonym of snow leopard, Panthera uncia.",
        "Synonym of onza, a particularly aggressive cougar or jaguarundi in Mexican folklore."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "925334c16ed786f96e990254e314c65db903f2a19f509350b48efb250aed5439",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a91b2c79d9510068bbac96f547563c90c784d53ad370a5e9aa1e10d1ef1a2c5f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 255105
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ounce →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b3VuY2U