Word of the Day: Ton

ton ton / tŭn   noun 1. a measurement of weight equal to 2,000 pounds (907.18 kilograms) in the US (short ton) and 2,240 pounds (1,016.05 kilograms) (long ton) in Britain Data isn’t information, any more than fifty tons of cement is a skyscraper. Clifford Stoll, 1950 –   2. a metric ton which is a measure of weight equal to 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds) In countries that employ the metric system, tonne is the correct term for this unit of measure, although it is often referred to as a ton. Brendan McGuigan, “What is a Metric Ton?”, ‘All the Science’, www.allthescience.org/what-is-a-metric-ton.htm, December 24, 2022   3. unit of capacity of a ship’s cargo, typically calculated as 40 cubic feet He had to take on board forty tons of dynamite and a hundred and twenty tons of gunpowder at a place down the river before proceeding to sea. From “Chance” by Joseph Conrad, 1857 – 1924   4. a unit of measurement of the water displaced by a ship, equal to 35 cubic feet The steamer Mongolia, belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company, built of iron, of two thousand eight hundred tons burden, and five hundred horse-power, was due at eleven o’clock. From “Around the World in Eighty Days” by Jules Verne, 1828 – 1905   5. (informal – often tons) a very large quantity, amount or number; a lot One ounce of good luck is better than a ton of brains. Yugoslavian Proverb   6. the fashion or style that is currently popular; vogue Setting aside a certain dapperness of carriage, which may be termed deskism for want of a better word, the manner of these persons seemed to me an exact fac-simile of what had been the perfection of bon ton about twelve or eighteen months before. From “The Man of the Crowd” by Edgar Allan Poe, 1809 – 1849   7. haute couture; high fashion Taste is to literature what bon ton is in society. Madame de Stael, 1766 – 1817