The scruple (℈) is a small unit in the
apothecaries' system
The apothecaries' system, or apothecaries' weights and measures, is a historical system of mass and volume units that were used by physicians and apothecaries for medical prescriptions and also sometimes by scientists."Medicinal-Gewicht, Apotheke ...
,
derived from the old
Roman ' ()
unit (''
scrupulus''/''
scrupulum'').__NOTOC__
Mass unit
The scruple is of an
ounce (or of a troy
ounce),
dram
Dram, DRAM, or drams may refer to:
Technology and engineering
* Dram (unit), a unit of mass and volume, and an informal name for a small amount of liquor, especially whisky or whiskey
* Dynamic random-access memory, a type of electronic semicondu ...
, or 20
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
s:
it is therefore exactly 1.2959782
gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...
s.
The Roman scruple was 11.875% smaller, therefore being exactly 1.14208078875 grams.
Volume unit
The fluid scruple is
fluid ounce
A fluid ounce (abbreviated fl oz, fl. oz. or oz. fl., old forms ℥, fl ℥, f℥, ƒ ℥) is a unit of volume (also called ''capacity'') typically used for measuring liquids. The British Imperial, the United States customary, and the United S ...
,
fluid dram, 20
minims,
teaspoon
A teaspoon (tsp.) is a small spoon that can be used to stir a cup of tea or coffee, or as a tool for measuring volume. The size of teaspoons ranges from about . For dosing of medicine and, in places where metric units are used, for cooking pu ...
, or 1
saltspoon.
It is therefore equal to 1.2322304
milliliters in the US customary system, or 1.1838776 milliliters in the imperial customary system (to eight significant figures).
See also
*
Scruples (disambiguation)
*
Roman units
The units of measurement of ancient Rome were generally consistent and well documented.
Length
The basic unit of Roman linear measurement was the ''pes'' (plural: ''pedes'') or Roman foot. Investigation of its relation to the English units#Leng ...
*
Byzantine units
Byzantine units of measurement were a combination and modification of the ancient Greek and Roman units of measurement used in the Byzantine Empire.
Until the reign of Justinian I (527–565), no universal system of units of measurement existed ...
*
E (Cyrillic)
References
{{Reflist, 2
Units of volume
Customary units of measurement
Alcohol measurement
spoons
Cooking weights and measures
Units of mass