picul Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a unit of weight used in some parts of Asia; approximately equal to 133 pounds (the load a grown man can carry)

Jav. & Malay pikul, fr. pikul to carry on the back, to carry a burden; n., a man's burden.

A commercial weight varying in different countries and for different commodities. In Borneo it is 135⅝ lbs.; in China and Sumatra, 133½ lbs.; in Japan, 133⅓ lbs.; but sometimes 130 lbs., etc. Called also, by the Chinese, tan. Written also pecul, and pecal.