No, libra (the unit of mass), and libre (being free) have unrelated origins, afaik. Libra comes from scales, as in the Libra constellation, wheveas libre comes from liber, related to freedom (and not books (or “libro” in Spanish); that’s a different word), which apparently comes from even older languages, meaning “town” or “people”.
The Spanish word for pounds (as a unit of weight) is Libre … which also means freedom.
Now I’m wondering why Inches are called Pulgadas. And now I’m wondering why Inches are called Inches in English …
No, libra (the unit of mass), and libre (being free) have unrelated origins, afaik. Libra comes from scales, as in the Libra constellation, wheveas libre comes from liber, related to freedom (and not books (or “libro” in Spanish); that’s a different word), which apparently comes from even older languages, meaning “town” or “people”.
Ah OK, I’ve only ever heard it spoken! (And rarely, only when dealing with American service manuals)
An inch is about a thumb’s width and if I remember my guitar lesson correctly, isn’t pulgadas similar to the word for thumb?
Thumb is pulgar, so that’s plausible