dotchin
Dotchin is an obsolete Anglo-Indian term for a steelyard or balance — a weighing instrument that uses a counterweight rather than two pans.
Definitions
Dotchin is an obsolete Anglo-Indian term for a steelyard or balance — a weighing instrument that uses a counterweight rather than two pans. The term appears in colonial-era trade and administrative records from India, where market weighing was an important function requiring specific vocabulary. Of interest primarily to historians of trade and commerce in colonial South Asia. Entirely archaic in contemporary usage.
The grain merchant brought out his dotchin and carefully balanced each sack before agreeing a price.
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(India, obsolete) A steelyard or balance.
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- weighment57%
An Indian English term for the act or process of weighing goods — standard in logistics, trade, and railway freight contexts across South Asia. Where British English would say 'weighing' or 'the weigh-in', Indian English formalised it into a noun with its own procedural weight (no pun intended). You'll find it on freight receipts, port documents, and commodity contracts throughout India.
- chota56%
(India, obsolete) Small; younger.
- wecht55%
(Scotland) A form of sieve used to winnow grain; the weight of its contents.
- weighment54%
(India) The weighing of goods.