**Historical Units of Mass:**
– Attic Greek drachma: 6 obols, 1100 Greek mina, approx. 4.37 grams.
– Roman drachma: 196 Roman pounds, approx. 3.41 grams.
– Ottoman dirhem based on Sassanian drachm, derived from Roman dram/drachm.
**British Evolution of Dram Measurement:**
– British Weights and Measures Act of 1878 introduced verification of apothecary weights.
– By 1900, distinction between avoirdupois and apothecaries versions enforced.
– Dram now avoirdupois drams, approx. 27.34 grains.
– Drachm now apothecaries drachms, equal to 60 grains.
**Modern Measurement of Dram:**
– Avoirdupois dram: 1.7718451953125 grams.
– Apothecaries dram: 3.8879346 grams.
– Used for powder charge in shotgun shells.
– Apothecaries dram equals 3 scruples or 60 grains.
**Volume Measurement and Cultural References:**
– Fluid dram: 1/8 of a fluid ounce.
– U.S. customary system: 3.6966911953125 ml.
– British Imperial system: 3.5516328125 ml.
– Informally used for a small amount of liquor.
– Cultural references in songs, TV shows, and literature.
**Metric System, Oxford Dictionary, and General Measurement Resources:**
– Metric system based on meter, liter, and gram, widely used in scientific contexts.
– Oxford English Dictionary: authoritative source for English word definitions and usage.
– Domestic Measurement of Medicine: insights into historical medical dosing practices.
– Whisky Measurement: understanding the term dram in whisky consumption.
– General Tables of Units of Measurement: standardized units published by NIST for industries.
The dram (alternative British spelling drachm; apothecary symbol ʒ or ℨ; abbreviated dr) is a unit of mass in the avoirdupois system, and both a unit of mass and a unit of volume in the apothecaries' system. It was originally both a coin and a weight in ancient Greece. The unit of volume is more correctly called a fluid dram, fluid drachm, fluidram or fluidrachm (abbreviated fl dr, ƒ 3, or fʒ).