chaldron

noun

1. (archaic)An old English dry measure, containing four quarters. At London, 36 bushels heaped up, or its equivalent weight, and more than twice as much at Newcastle. Now used exclusively for coal and coke.

   “The celdra or chaldron is employed in some places, especially at Finchale or Wearmouth. It appears to contain four quarters or thereabouts, and is perhaps the original measure of which the quarter is a fraction.”

   “The visitors recorded that it [Locomotion] could haul 20 wagons, each holding one Newcastle chaldron of coal (53 cwt.).”

   “????, De Colange. In the United States the chaldron is ordinarily 2,940 lbs, but at New York it is 2,500 lbs.”

2. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative form of chawdron.

   “Hovv fare I? troth, for ſixpence a meale, vvench, as vvel as heart can vviſh, vvith Calves Chaldrons, and Chitterlings, beſides I haue a Punck after ſupper, as good as a roſted Apple.”

   “To Lift a Swan. […] [P]lace the tvvo halves, ſlit ſide dovvnvvard, ſtrevv ſome Salt and Cinnamon about it, and ſerve up Chaldron Sauce, in Saucers, Garniſhing vvith VVater-Lillies, VVater-Creſſes, or any ſuitable flovvers, or greens, grovving in or by the vvater.”

   “Chitterling. […] The small entrails of a hog, from their wrinkled appearance. […] [German] kalbs gekröse, a calf's pluck or chaldron; gänse gekröse, a goose's giblets, called chitters in the N[orth] of E[ngland].”