aum, noun

/ɔːm//əʊm//aʊm/
Forms:
awm, hamShow more Also awm, ham, haum.
Origin:
DutchShow more Englished form of Dutch aam liquid measure of 155,2 litres; a cask.
historical
a. A unit of liquid measurement formerly in use at the Cape, usually equivalent to 30 to 34 imperial gallons (136 to 154 litres); a vessel of this capacity. See also anker, leaguer sense a.
Note:
Not exclusively South African English. Confusion as to the volume represented by an aum and other measures appears to have resulted partly from the difference between Dutch and English gallons, a Dutch gallon being approximately 5/6 of an English gallon.
1731 G. Medley tr. of P. Kolben’s Present State of Cape of G.H. I. 355Besides the Governor’s Salary and Board — Wages, his Excellency is likewise allow’d by the company for his Household, Monthly..1 Aum of African Wine; 8 Quarts of Brandy; 16 of Canary.
1798 S.H. Wilcocke tr. of J.S. Stavorinus’s Voy. to E. Indies I. 545The muscadel fetches sixty and seventy rixdollars, and the constantia-wine from sixty to seventy-five rixdollars the awm. [Source Note: A leager is nearly four awms, and an awm contains about forty English gallons.]
1800 Lady A. Barnard in D. Fairbridge Lady Anne Barnard (1924) 242Out of the quantity of Constantia Wine which is delivered annually to Government from the two Farms, General Dundas thought it proper last Year to reserve Ten Aums to be Disposed of as he pleased.
1802 J. Pringle in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1899) IV. 140I have the honour to inform you that I have as usual received Sixty Aums of Constantia Wine.
1833 S. Afr. Almanac & Dir. 4116 Flasks, equal to 1 Anker. 4 Ankers equal to 1 Aum. 4 Aums, equal to 1 Leaguer.
1861 E. Prov. Yr Bk & Annual Register 61An aum is equal to 38 Dutch gals., or about 31⅔ gals. im.
1863 W.C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting 369He helped considerably to lighten our half-aum of Pontac.
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 95They heard names such as leaguers, pipes, aums, half-pipes and hogsheads and stared at vast quantities of barrelled wine and brandy.
1965 A. Gordon-Brown S. Afr. Heritage IV. 21Illustration 45 shows the original bill of lading for the shipment of aums of Constantia wine from Table Bay to London.
1986 W. Steenkamp Blake’s Woman 83Soon she was ticking off things like sacks of coffee and flour, chests of tea, bags of salt, half an aum of Cape Brandy.
b. With qualifying word designating part of an aum:
half-aum. Also attributive.
1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. I. 40The red Constantia wine sells for about sixty rixdollars the half awm.
1798 S.H. Wilcocke tr. of J.S. Stavorinus’s Voy. to E. Indies II. 69The farming of the wine consists herein, that whoever is the farmer has the exclusive right of selling wine and spirituous liquors in smaller quantities than by the half-awm.
1806 J. Barrow Trav. II. 317This wine sells at the Cape for 70 or 80 rixdollars the half aum, a cask which ought to contain 20 gallons.
1829 C. Rose Four Yrs in Sn Afr. 116The boors left a half aum (a cask) of brandy wine in the bush, and we drank it, and the rest drank more than I did, and got drunk.
1860 J. Sanderson in Jrnl of Royal Geog. Soc. XXX. 247The price of this liquor, a very coarse fiery spirit, known in South Africa as ‘Cape smoke,’ is 7l. or 7l. 10s. per halfaum.
1873 A. Edgar in Friend 27 Nov.They discovered a prize..in the shape of a half-aum of Cape brandy, or ‘smoke’ as they termed it...The cunning old tipplers had hurled the half-aum into a deep pool of water with the intention of visiting their old friend at night.
1913 W.W. Thompson Sea Fisheries of Cape Col. 9What they could not sell was to be handed over to the Company for the garrison at..8 gl. the half-aum for train oil.
1926 P.W. Laidler Tavern of Ocean 37On 16th June, 1663, the authorities seized four half-aums of Batavia arrack, all that was left of eleven smuggled ashore.
c1936 S. & E. Afr. Yr Bk & Guide 10091 aum = 30 Dutch Gallons = 31⅔ Eng. Gals.
1972 [see leaguer].
A unit of liquid measurement formerly in use at the Cape, usually equivalent to 30 to 34 imperial gallons (136 to 154 litres); a vessel of this capacity.
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half-aum

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historical
auk, interjectionint.auntie, nounn.
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