Minot (unit)
Encyclopedia
The minot is an old unit of dry volume
, used in France
prior to metrication
. The unit was equivalent to three French bushels (boisseaux), half a mine, and one quarter of a setier. The size of the minot is comparable to the US and Imperial bushel
s.
The name minot derives from the larger unit, the mine, with an -ot diminutive suffixed. The term mine in this case derives from the same Greek
origin as the word hemisphere
, and refers to half of the larger setier. The volumetric mine should not be confused with the mass unit mina
, which is also called a mine in French.
As the French bushel was defined as 10/27 of a cubic French royal foot, or 640 cubic French royal inches, the minot was 1920 cubic French royal inches, corresponding to about 38.086 litre
s.
Later on, there was also a minot de Paris based on exactly one cubic French royal foot, which is equivalent to 34.277 litres. The ancient Roman amphora
shared a similar definition (one cubic Roman foot). It was itself divided into three units, similar to the minot.
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....
, used in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
prior to metrication
Metrication
Metrication refers to the introduction and use of the SI metric system, the international standard for physical measurements. This has involved a long process of independent and systematic conversions of countries from various local systems of weights and measures. Metrication began in France in...
. The unit was equivalent to three French bushels (boisseaux), half a mine, and one quarter of a setier. The size of the minot is comparable to the US and Imperial bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s.
The name minot derives from the larger unit, the mine, with an -ot diminutive suffixed. The term mine in this case derives from the same Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
origin as the word hemisphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
, and refers to half of the larger setier. The volumetric mine should not be confused with the mass unit mina
Mina (unit)
The mina is an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight equivalent to 60 shekels. The mina, like the shekel, was also a unit of currency; in ancient Greece it was equal to 100 drachmae. In the first century AD, it amounted to about a fourth of the wages earned annually by an agricultural worker...
, which is also called a mine in French.
As the French bushel was defined as 10/27 of a cubic French royal foot, or 640 cubic French royal inches, the minot was 1920 cubic French royal inches, corresponding to about 38.086 litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
s.
Later on, there was also a minot de Paris based on exactly one cubic French royal foot, which is equivalent to 34.277 litres. The ancient Roman amphora
Amphora (measure)
The amphora, or amphora quadrantal was a unit for measuring liquids or bulk goods in the Roman Empire, and for estimating the size of ships and the production of vineyards.The volume of a standard amphora is equal to one cubic foot....
shared a similar definition (one cubic Roman foot). It was itself divided into three units, similar to the minot.
See also
- French units of measurementFrench units of measurementFrance has a unique history of units of measurement due to radical attempts to adopt a metric system following the French Revolution.In the Ancien régime, before 1795, France used a system of measures that had many of the characteristics of the modern Imperial System of units...
- Ancient Roman units of measurementAncient Roman units of measurementThe ancient Roman units of measurement were built on the Hellenic system with Egyptian, Hebrew, and Mesopotamian influences. The Roman units were comparatively consistent and well documented.-Length:Notes...