Definition

1. Noun:
   • A historical unit of dry volume: A "chaldron" is a now-obsolete British unit of capacity used primarily for measuring dry goods, especially coal. It was legally defined as being equal to 36 bushels.

Usage

• The word "chaldron" is a historical term. It is used today almost exclusively in historical, legal, or technical contexts discussing pre-modern British weights and measures, commerce, or mining.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • In the 18th century, coal was often sold by the chaldron.
  • The shipment contained approximately fifty chaldrons of wheat.
  • The old mining contract specified a price per chaldron.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The precise volume of a chaldron varied by region and the commodity being measured before standardization. Its use declined with the adoption of the imperial system and later the metric system.
• Technical/Historical Writing: The term appears in historical documents, economic histories, and studies of the Industrial Revolution.

Variants and Related Words

• Bushel (n): A unit of dry volume equal to 8 gallons, or 1/36th of a chaldron. This is the more common, surviving unit.
• Imperial measure (n): Refers to the system of weights and measures formerly used in the British Empire, of which the chaldron was a part.

Synonyms

• Historical dry measure: This is a descriptive synonym rather than a direct equivalent.
• (Specific) Unit of capacity: A general term that includes the chaldron.

Notes on Meaning

• The "chaldron" was specifically a measure of volume, not weight. However, because it was so commonly used for coal (a dense material), it often implied a rough approximate weight in commercial practice.
• It is distinct from similar-sounding words like "cauldron" (a large pot).

Noun

1. a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 36 bushels