Early Modern Measurements
Measurement before the enlightenment and the age of standardization varied widely. While some terms had wide adoption, others were highly regional and idiosyncratic. The following equivalencies are meant to aid in estimations.
Dry Amounts
Wet Amounts
Tun: 950-960 litres, or approximately 252 gallons during the early modern period.
pipe or butt: 1/2 of a tun, 475-480 liters, or 126 gallons
puncheon: 1/3 of a tun, 316-320 litres, or 84 gallons
hogshead: 1/4 of a tun, 237-242 litres, or 63 gallons
tierce: 1/6 of a tun, 158-160 litres, or 42 gallons
barrel: 1/8 of a tun, 118-120 litres, or 31 1/2 gallons
rundlet: 1/14 of a tun, 68-69 litres, or 18 gallons
quart:
ounce, fluid ounce, fl oz (℥, fl ℥, f℥, ƒ ℥): The fluid ounce was originally the volume occupied by one ounce (in weight) of some substance. In Britain today, an imperial fluid ounce is 1/20 of an imperial pint; a US fluid ounce is 1/16 of a US fluid pint (about 4% bigger than the imperial fluid ounce).
dram or drachm: 1/8 of a fluid ounce
Comparisons:
1 ton = 2 butts, 3 puncheons, 4 hogsheads, 6 tierces, 8 barrels, or 14 rundlets
Weight
The ounce (abbreviated oz; apothecary symbol: ℥): the apothecaries' ounce is equivalent in weight to the troy ounce (in modern terms, 31.1g, not the ~28.3g of the avoirdupois ounce).