Therms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit of heat energy equivalent to 100,000 British thermal units, used for measuring large quantities of heat or energy in heating systems
2. A standard measure representing a substantial amount of thermal energy often applied in natural gas billing and energy consumption calculations
3. A quantifiable unit denoting a fixed amount of heat energy, typically utilized in thermodynamics and energy transfer assessments

Etymology: The unit "therm" was coined in the 1920s, when it was needed to measure large quantities of heat for gas and steam supply. Its name comes from the Ancient Greek "thermos", meaning "heat", the same root that gives us "thermometer" and "thermal". "Therms" is simply the plural, used when quantities are counted rather than the single unit named. The source also records a more colourful, though uncertain, theory: that the word may be a borrowing from the names of the gods Hermes or Terminus, whose statues were often decorated with work that resembled the "therm" style. This idea is only a guess, though, and the Greek root is the far more secure explanation.

Synonyms: units of heat