hogshead

Other forms: hogsheads

A hogshead is either a large cask that holds liquid, or a unit of liquid measurement. The owner of a pub might order a few extra hogsheads of cider on a particularly busy weekend.

The term hogshead is almost always used for beer, ale, or wine — although you can use it as a unit of measurement for anything that comes in a big wooden barrel. A wine hogshead is about 79 gallons, but there tends to be some variation on the exact amount. During the colonial era, traders used a tobacco hogshead for both measuring and transporting, and in the 19th century, a sugar hogshead was a common measurement in the American South.

Definitions of hogshead

1. noun

   a British unit of capacity for alcoholic beverages
   type of:

   British capacity unit, Imperial capacity unit

   a unit of measure for capacity officially adopted in the British Imperial System; British units are both dry and wet
2. noun

   a large cask especially one holding 63 gals
   type of:

   barrel, cask

   a cylindrical container that holds liquids