On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This article is about the European unit of mass. For Asian what is stone ground mustard of ‘stone’, see Picul. BLW Wool Weight with the Royal Arms of England.

The name “stone” derives from the use of stones for weights, a practice that dates back into antiquity. There was no standardised “stone” in the ancient Jewish world, but in Roman times stone weights were crafted to multiples of the Roman pound. STONE also denotes a certain quantity or weight of some commodities. The Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which applied to all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, consolidated the weights and measures legislation of several centuries into a single document. The English stone under law varied by commodity and in practice varied according to local standards. In England, merchants traditionally sold potatoes in half-stone increments of 7 pounds. Smithfield market continued to use the 8 lb stone for meat until shortly before the Second World War.

In 1661, the Royal Commission of Scotland recommended that the Troy stone be used as a standard of weight and that it be kept in the custody of the burgh of Lanark. Before the early 19th century, as in England, the stone varied both with locality and with commodity. For example, the Belfast stone for measuring flax equaled 16. The most usual value was 14 pounds.