Kantars

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit of weight used in certain countries, traditionally varying but often around 45 kilograms; a measure applied in commercial and agricultural contexts; also a term used regionally for standardized mass
2. Refers to a traditional mass measurement employed in trade, typically near 45 kilograms; serves as a weight standard in various regional markets; used to quantify bulk goods or produce
3. Denotes an oldweight measure common in specific regions, generally equating to approximately 45 kg; utilized in commercial transactions and market settings; acts as a conventional mass unit in local systems

Etymology: "Kantars" is simply the plural of "kantar", a unit of weight that, according to the source, derives from Arabic "qinṭār". That Arabic term is itself the root of a surprising family of English words: "centenary", "centner" and "quintal" are all doublets of it, meaning they descend from the same ancestor but arrived in English by different routes. The shared idea is a hundred, since the Arabic word traces back to the Greek and Latin notion of a hundred units of weight. The kantar's weight was never fixed. Its traditional value varied widely from place to place, which is why it is often given as roughly 45 kilograms, yet the unit was common in commercial and agricultural trade across the Middle East and beyond. Some regions used it for standardized mass in trade, so the same name could describe quite different quantities depending on where a merchant was standing.

Synonyms: halters, bridles