Quintal, a French weight corresponding to the English 'hundredweight,' was equal to 100 pounds (livres); on the introduction of the metrical system the same name was employed to designate a weight of 100 kilogrammes (see GRAMME). The metrical quintal, equivalent to 220 lb. avoirdupois, is thus more than twice as heavy as the old one.
Quintal
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 8: Peasant to Eoumelia, p. 536
Source scan(s): p. 0547