Etymograph

English

onza

Onza comes from Spanish onza ‘ounce, Spanish ounce’, and goes back to Latin ū̆ncia.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEū̆ncia1
  2. Spanishc. 1500–presentonza1‘ounce, Spanish ounce’
  3. Englishtodayonza1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English onza

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEū̆nciaWiktionary, English onza
  2. Spanishc. 1500–presentonzaWiktionary, English onza‘ounce, Spanish ounce’
  3. EnglishtodayonzaWiktionary, English onza

Linked words

through Latin ū̆ncia

inch, ounce, 3 more

Another origin of onza

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewk-‘white’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lú(n)ḱs‘lynx’uncertain
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lúnksuncertain
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλύγξlúnx‘lynx’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElynx‘a lynx’uncertain
  6. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*lunceauncertain
  7. Italianc. 1300–presentlonza‘term used in the Middle Ages to describe a type of wild cat, possibly a lynx or leopard’
  8. Old Frenchc. 842–1400lonce‘lynx’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600once
  10. Spanishc. 1500–presentonza
  11. Englishtodayonza

Today it means

noun A traditional Spanish unit of mass, equivalent to about 28.76 g.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “onza”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin ū̆ncia / onza

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