oncia

ounce

noun ON-chah Rare

Origin: From Latin uncia, 'a twelfth part'.

Usage Note

Oncia is the Italian word for the ounce, both avoirdupois (28.35 g) and troy. The irregular plural is le once (not oncie). It appears mainly in historical, pharmaceutical, or Anglo-American measurement contexts, since Italy uses the metric system.

Examples

"La ricetta richiede due once di burro."

Natural Translation

The recipe calls for two ounces of butter.

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