Pound (mass) Pound (mass) The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly , and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lb (for most pound definitions), # (chiefly in the U.S.), and ℔ or ″̶ (specifically for the apothecaries' pound). The unit is descended from the Roman "libra" (hence the abbreviation "lb"). The English word
History of pound sterling in Oceania Papua New Guinea also used the Australian pound, while territories under New Zealand jurisdiction, such as Western Samoa and the Cook Islands, as well as the Pitcairn Islands used the New Zealand pound. Hence there were now a total of three different pound units in use in the Australasian and Pacific region, none of them being equal to the pound sterling. There was the Australian pound, the Fijian pound, and the New Zealand pound. However, the New Zealand pound, as stated above, did return to parity with the pound sterling in 1948. History of pound sterling in Oceania The pound