Word.ws English Dictionary

libra

/ˈliːbrə/

libra noun: a Roman unit of mass, usually equivalent to 327 g. Also the alternative spelling of libbra.

Noun (1)

libra (plural libras or (Roman contexts) librae)

  1. (historical) A Roman unit of mass, usually equivalent to 327 g.
    Synonyms:
    Roman pound, pound
  2. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of mass, usually around 460 g.
    Synonyms:
    Spanish pound, pound
  3. (historical) A traditional Portuguese unit of mass, usually equivalent to 345 g and particularly used for trade in medicines.
  4. (historical) Synonym of arratel, a separate Portuguese unit of mass, usually around 460 g.
    Synonyms:
    arratel
  5. (historical) Synonym of pound, a notional pound of silver as a money of account, especially in medieval contexts.
    Synonyms:
    pound

Proper noun capitalized: Libra

IPA/ˈliːbɹə/

Libra

  1. A constellation of the zodiac, traditionally figured in the shape of a set of weighing scales, though earlier figured as the claws of Scorpio.
    Synonyms:
    Balance, Balances, Scales
  2. The astrological sign for the Scales, ruled by Venus and covering September 24 - October 23 (tropical astrology) or October 16 - November 16 (sidereal astrology).

Noun (2) capitalized: Libra

IPA/ˈliːbɹə/

Libra (plural Libras)

  1. Someone with a Libra star sign.
    Synonyms:
    Libran

Also used as

libra is also the alternative spelling of libbra.

Synonyms of libra

Antonyms

All synonyms of libra

Forms of libra

Noun
plurallibras
plural Roman error-unknown-taglibrae
pluralLibras
Proper noun
symbol♎︎

Plural of libra: libras

Origin of libra

From Latin lībra (“pound”), partially via Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese libra. Doublet of arratel, libbra, Libra, lira, litra, litre, livre, and rottol.

From Latin lībra (“scales, balance”), calque of Ancient Greek ζυγόν (zugón), calque of Akkadian 𒀯𒍣𒁀𒉌𒌈 (ᵐᵘˡzibānītum, “scales”), from Sumerian 𒀯𒍣𒁀𒀭𒈾 (ᵐᵘˡZI.BA.AN.NA, “scales”). Doublet of arratel, libbra, libra, lira, litra, litre, livre, and rottol.

Words formed from libra

Words that rhyme with libra

Questions about libra

What does libra mean?
Libra means a Roman unit of mass, usually equivalent to 327 g.
What part of speech is libra?
Libra can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce libra?
Libra is pronounced /ˈliːbrə/.
What is the plural of libra?
The plural of libra is libras.

Words near libra in the dictionary

  1. Liboo
  2. LIBOR
  3. Liborio
  4. Liborios
  5. Libourne
  6. libra
  7. Librado
  8. Librados
  9. librae
  10. libral
  11. librametry

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: libra (page history and authors); Libra (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-ca-libra-weight.oga, en-us-Libra.ogg.

Cite this entry: “libra.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/libra. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.