Toise

A toise (symbol: T) is a unit of measure for length, area and volume originating in pre-revolutionary France. As a unit in North America, it primarily relates to colonial French establishments in early Louisiana and Quebec.

Definition

Unit of Length

• 1 Toise was exactly 6 pieds (feet) i.e. about 1.949 metres in France before 10 December 1799.
• 1 Toise was about 1.949 metres in France between 10 December 1799 and 1812 (new definition).
• 1 Toise was exactly 2 metres in France between 1812 and 1 January 1840 (mesures usuelles).
• 1 Toise = 1.8 metres in Switzerland

Unit of area

• 1 Toise was about 3.799 square metres or, of course, a square French toise, as a measure for land and masonry area in France before 10 December 1799.

Unit of volume

• 1 Toise = 8.0 cubic metres (20th century Haiti)

Origin

Historical French unit. Early Louisiana in the United States.

See also

• French units of measurement

External links

• Sizes.com toise page
  
• Reference from UN United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Statistical Office of the United Nations