Gross (unit)
Group of 144; a dozen dozen
None
In English and related languages, several terms involving the words "great" or "gross" relate to numbers involving a multiple of exponents of twelve ( dozen ):
- A gross refers to a group of 144 items (a dozen dozen or a square dozen, 12 2 ). [1] [2]
- A great gross refers to a group of 1,728 items (a dozen gross or a cubic dozen, 12 3 ). [1] [2]
- A small gross [3] or a great hundred [4] refers to a group of 120 items (ten dozen, 10×12).
The term can be abbreviated gr. or gro. , and dates from the early 15th century. It derives from the Old French grosse douzaine , meaning "large dozen”. [5] The continued use of these terms in measurement and counting represents the duodecimal number system. [6] This has led groups such as the Dozenal Society of America to advocate for wider use of "gross" and related terms instead of the decimal system. [7] [8]
See also
References
- 1 2 Schwartzman, Steven (1996), The Words of Mathematics: An Etymological Dictionary of Mathematical Terms Used in English , Mathematical Association of America , pp. 100–101, ISBN 9780883855119 .
- 1 2 Darling, David (2004), The Universal Book of Mathematics: From Abracadabra to Zeno's Paradoxes , John Wiley & Sons, p. 140, ISBN 9780471270478 .
- ↑ Wright, Carroll Davidson (1910), The New Century Book of Facts: A Handbook of Ready Reference , King-Richardson Company, p. 462 .
- ↑ Wells, David (1997), The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers (3rd ed.), Penguin, p. 66, ISBN 9780140261493 .
- ↑ Gross | Origin and meaning of gross by Online Etymology Dictionary
- ↑ Gullberg, Jan (1997), Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers , W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN 9780393040029 .
- ↑ Dudley, Underwood (1996), Mathematical Cranks , Cambridge University Press, p. 22 , ISBN 9780883855072 .
- ↑ Bellos, Alex (2012-12-12), "Dozenalists of the world unite! Rise up against the tyranny of ten!" , The Guardian .