The almud is a unit of measurement of volume used in France, Spain and in parts of the Americas that were colonized by each country. The word comes from the Arabic al-múdd." The exact value of the almud was different from region to region, and also varied according to the nature of the measured good. In Portugal the name almude was used and their values were much larger than the Spanish ones. It is still used in rural Mexico, Panama, Chile and other countries. An almud is a box with internal marks, indicating different measurements.
It was also used to name a given surface of land, said surface corresponding to how much could be seeded with the quantity of grain contained in an almud.
Iberian Spain: 4.625 litersRuss Rowlett, How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Canary Islands, at Las Palmas: 5.50 litersSizes.com, almud
Argentina Córdoba: 18.08 liters Corrientes: 21.49 liters Mendoza: 9.31 liters Belize: 5.683 liters Chile: 8.08 liters Mexico: 7.568 liters Philippines: 1.76 litersDiksiyonaryo.ph Puerto Rico: 20 liters United States, New Mexico: 412.71 cubic inches, approximately 6.76 liters.
As unit of mass In some South American countries an almud was a unit of mass. Bolivia Tarata, Cochabamba: 7.36 kg. Arampampa, Potosí: 4.14 kg. Buena Vista, Santa Cruz: 14.72 kg. Ecuador: 12.88 kg. Venezuela: varied between 9 and 50 kg.
See also Spanish customary units
References