Quart


The quart is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Presently, three kinds of quarts remain in use: the and of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal to one liter. It is divided into two pints or four cups. Historically, the exact size of the quart has varied with the different values of gallons over time and in reference to different commodities.

Name

The term comes from the Latin ' via the French '. However, although the French word :fr:quart |quart has the same root, it frequently means something entirely different. In Canadian French in particular, the quart is called :fr:pinte|pinte, whilst the pint is called :fr:chopine|chopine.

History

Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, the corresponding quarts have also existed with various sizes.

Definitions and equivalencies

US liquid quart

In the United States, all traditional length and volume measures have been legally standardized for commerce by the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, using the definition of 1 yard being exactly equal to 0.9144 meters. From this definition is derived the metric equivalencies for inches, feet, and miles, area measures, and measures of volume. The US liquid quart equals 57.75 cubic inches, which is exactly equal to 0.946352946 liters.

US dry quart

In the United States, the dry quart is equal to one quarter of a US dry gallon, or exactly 1.101220942715 liters.

Imperial quart

The imperial quart, which is used for both liquid and dry capacity, is equal to one quarter of an imperial gallon, or exactly 1.1365225 liters. In the United Kingdom goods may be sold by the quart if the equivalent metric measure is also given.
In French Canada, by federal law, the imperial quart is called pinte.

Winchester quart

The Winchester quart is an archaic measure, roughly equal to 2 imperial quarts or 2.25 liters. The 2.5L bottles in which laboratory chemicals are supplied are sometimes referred to as Winchester quart bottles, although they contain slightly more than a traditional Winchester quart.

Reputed quart

The reputed quart was a measure equal to two thirds of an imperial quart at about 0.7577liters, which is approximately equal to one US fifth.
The reputed quart was previously recognized as a standard size of wine bottle in the United Kingdom, and is only slightly larger than the current standard wine bottle of 0.75L.