The British Pint Is Bigger Than the American One
A pint is a unit of liquid volume. The two countries mean different amounts by it.
A pint is a unit of liquid volume, an eighth of a gallon. The two systems differ: an imperial pint is 568 millilitres, an American pint is 473, so a British pint is about twenty percent larger. Britain redefined its gallon in 1824 around the volume of ten pounds of water, while America kept an older English wine gallon, and the pints diverged with them. The word comes from Old French *pinte*, probably from a Latin word for a painted mark on a measuring vessel.
- A unit of volume. *A pint of milk.*
- A pint of beer. *A pint.*
- Imperial pint. *568 ml.*
- US pint. *473 ml.*
- Old French — *pinte*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | pint | A pint. |
| Plural | pints | Pints. |
| Compound | pint-sized | Pint-sized. |
| Related | quart | A quart. |
| Related | gallon | A gallon. |
- A pint of bitter, please.Pub.
- Imperial pints are larger.Measure.
- A pint-sized hero.Figurative.
Why the measures split
- England had several gallons — wine, ale, corn
- America inherited the smaller wine gallon in 1776
- Britain unified them in 1824 around ten pounds of water
- The imperial gallon became larger than the American
- Pints and quarts followed the same split
Old French *pinte*, probably from Medieval Latin *pincta*, a painted mark on a measuring vessel.
Why is a British pint bigger?
Britain redefined its gallon in 1824 around ten pounds of water; America kept the older, smaller wine gallon.
What does pint literally mean?
Probably a painted mark, from the line drawn on a measuring vessel to show the level.