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QUINTAL is a historical unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms (220.46 pounds) in the metric system, or 100 pounds (45.36 kg) in some traditional systems. It's commonly used in agriculture and commodity trading, especially in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Yes. QUINTAL is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 16 points in Scrabble, 19 in Words With Friends and 17 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | Q | U | I | N | T | A | L | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Words With Friends | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| Wordfeud | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
Quintal represents a fascinating intersection of measurement history, international trade, and linguistic evolution. This unit of weight, though less familiar to English speakers, remains vital in global agriculture, commodity markets, and traditional commerce across continents. From Indian grain markets to European vineyards, from Latin American coffee plantations to Mediterranean olive groves, the quintal continues to facilitate trade and communication in ways that reveal the persistence of historical measurement systems in our modern world.
In the metric system, a quintal equals exactly 100 kilograms (220.46 pounds), making it a convenient intermediate unit between the kilogram and the metric ton. This decimal relationship reflects the metric system's elegant design—one metric ton equals 10 quintals equals 1,000 kilograms. However, the story becomes more complex in traditional systems, where a quintal might equal 100 pounds (45.36 kg) in some regions, creating potential for confusion in international trade.
The quintal's primary domain is agricultural commerce. In India, the world's second-largest agricultural producer, farmers sell wheat, rice, and pulses by the quintal. Government minimum support prices are quoted per quintal, making it central to millions of livelihoods. Similarly, in European wine regions, grape yields are measured in quintals per hectare, with premium vineyards deliberately limiting production to enhance quality. Coffee producers from Brazil to Ethiopia price their harvests in quintals, as do olive oil producers around the Mediterranean.
The etymology of "quintal" traces a fascinating path through Mediterranean trade routes, revealing how commercial necessity shapes language. The word derives from medieval Latin "quintale," itself from Arabic "qinṭār" (قنطار), which came from Late Greek "kentinarion" (κεντηνάριον), ultimately stemming from Latin "centenarium" (relating to one hundred). This circular linguistic journey—Latin to Greek to Arabic and back to Latin—mirrors the medieval Mediterranean's commercial networks.
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of QUINTAL.
Hooks: no front hooks; back QUINTALS.
Words inside QUINTAL: 67 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: QUAINTQUINTAQUAILQUANTQUILTQUINTQUAIQUINQUITQATQUAQI. See all words from QUINTAL.