chaldron

English

Etymology

French chaudron

Noun

chaldron (plural chaldrons)

1. (archaic) An old English dry measure, containing four quarters. At London, 36 bushels heaped up, or its equivalent weight, and more than twice as much at Newcastle. Now used exclusively for coal and coke.
   • 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, p. 208.

     The celdra or chaldron is employed in some places, especially at Finchale or Wearmouth. It appears to contain four quarters or thereabouts, and is perhaps the original measure of which the quarter is a fraction.

   • ????, De Colange.

     In the United States the chaldron is ordinarily 2,940 lbs, but at New York it is 2,500 lbs.

Anagrams

• chlordan, chondral