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Tun vs Tonne - What's the difference?

tun | tonne |

As nouns the difference between tun and tonne

is that tun is a large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask while tonne is a metric unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. Symbol: t.

As a verb tun

is to put into tuns, or casks.

tun

English

Alternative forms

* (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask.
  • (brewing) A fermenting vat.
  • An old English measure of capacity for liquids, containing 252 wine gallons; equal to two pipes.
  • * 1882 , James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England , p. 205:
  • Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126 gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a rundlet 18.5 gallons.
  • A weight of 2,240 pounds.
  • An indefinite large quantity.
  • "He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit,
    This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this, Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim Hear no more of you. " -- Shakespeare
  • * (rfdate) Dryden
  • A tun of man in thy large bulk is writ.
  • (archaic, humorous, or, derogatory) A drunkard.
  • (zoology) Any shell belonging to and allied genera; called also tun-shell.
  • A part of the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar system which corresponds to 18 winal cycles or 360 days.
  • Verb

  • To put into tuns, or casks.
  • (Boyle)

    Anagrams

    * ----

    tonne

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A metric unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. Symbol: t
  • (colloquial, darts) A score of .
  • Usage notes

  • A tonne (about 2204.6 pounds) is not exactly the same as a long ton (2240 pounds). Because "ton" and "tonne" usually have the same pronunciation, the phrase "metric ton" is frequently used for "tonne" where disambiguation is required.
  • In the 1970s the British steel industry promoted the pronunciation /?t?n?/ to help avoid confusion. The pronunciation /t?n/ has also been used for the same reason.
  • * 1971 . Transactions of the Royal Institute of Naval Archtects , page 215, volume 113, 1971
  • The metric ton or 'tonne' is accepted as a synonym for the megagramme, and this form Is to be preferred on the grounds of brevity and familiarity in the industry. It may be as well to use the pronunciation 'tunnie' until the risk of confusion with the old ton has passed.
  • * 1972 , Which , May 1972
  • The British Steel Corporation, going metric but realising the possible confusion between a ton and a tonne (1,000 kilograms) has directed its staff to pronounce ‘tonne’ ‘tunnie’.
  • * 2002 , Richard Chapman, Physics for Geologists , page 138, CRC Press, 2002 ISBN 0415288053
  • The tonne'' rhymes with ''con'' (perhaps not in North America!) to distinguish it from the non-SI unit of weight, the ''ton'' rhyming with ''bun .

    Synonyms

    * metric ton * megagram

    Anagrams

    * * * ----