Gill (unit)

For other uses of "Gill", see Gill (disambiguation).

The gill /ˈdʒɪl/ or teacup is a unit of measurement for volume equal to a quarter of a pint. It is no longer in common use, except in regard to the volume of alcoholic spirits measures.

Copper gill-measuring jugs

Imperial

In imperial units

1 imperial gill	≡ 5 imperial fluid ounces
	≡ ⁠1/32⁠ imperial gallon
	≡ ⁠1/8⁠ imperial quart
	≡ ⁠1/4⁠ imperial pint
	≡ ⁠1/2⁠ imperial cup
	≡ 10 tablespoons
	≡ 40 Imperial fluid drams
	≡ 142.0653125 mL[a]
	≈ 4.8038 U.S. fluid ounces
	≈ 0.0375297 US gallons
	≈ 0.3002375 US pints
	≈ 0.600475 US cups
	≈ 1.20095 US gills
	≈ 9.6076 US tablespoons
	≈ 28.8228 US teaspoons
	≈ 38.4304 US fluid drams
	≈ 8.6693573 cubic inches
	≈ 0.1290071 US dry quarts
	≈ 0.2580142 US dry pints

US

In United States customary units

1 US gill	≡ 4 US fluid ounces
	≡ ⁠1/32⁠ US gallon
	≡ ⁠1/8⁠ US liquid quart
	≡ ⁠1/4⁠ US liquid pint
	≡ ⁠1/2⁠ US cup
	≡ 8 US tablespoons
	≡ 24 US teaspoons
	≡ 32 US fluid drams
	≡ 118.29411825 mL[b]
	≈ 4.1633709 imperial fluid ounces
	≈ 0.0260211 imperial gallons
	≈ 0.1040843 imperial quarts
	≈ 0.2081685 imperial pints
	≈ 0.8326742 imperial gills
	≈ 0.41633709 imperial cups
	≈ 6.66139348 imperial tablespoons
	≈ 33.3069674 imperial fluid drams
	≡ 7.21875 cubic inches
	≡ ⁠11550/107521⁠ US dry quart
	≡ ⁠23100/107521⁠ US dry pint

United Kingdom

Prior to metrication in the United Kingdom, the standard single measure of spirits in a pub was 1⁄6 gill (23.7 mL) in England and Wales,^[1] either 1⁄5 gill (28.4 mL) or 1⁄4 gill (35.5 mL) in Scotland, and 1⁄4 gill (35.5 mL) in Northern Ireland. After metrication, this was replaced by measures of either 25 or 35 millilitres (0.176 or 0.246 gi), at the discretion of the proprietor.

Half of a gill is a jack, or one-eighth of a pint.^[2]

But in northern England, a quarter pint could also be called a jack or a noggin, rather than a gill, and in some areas a half-pint could be called a gill, particularly for beer and milk.^[3][4][5]

In Scotland, there were additional sizes:^[6]

• big gill = 1+1⁄2 gills (213.1 mL)
• wee gill = 3⁄4 gill (106.5 mL)
• wee half gill = 3⁄8 gill (53.3 mL)
• nip = 1⁄4 gill (35.5 mL)

Ireland

In the republic of Ireland, the standard spirit measure was historically 1⁄4 gill. It still retains this value, though it is now legally specified in metric units as 35.5 mL.

Isle of Man

Until 2022,^[7] a spirit measure in the Isle of Man was defined as 1⁄5 gill (28.4 mL).^[8]

In popular culture

There are occasional references to a gill in popular culture, such as in:

Literature

• In L. Frank Baum's The Patchwork Girl of Oz, one of the ingredients required for a magic spell is a gill of water from a dark well. In chapter 19, the obscure unit is used for humor including a pun with the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill", which also involved a well.
• In George Orwell's Animal Farm, Moses the Raven is allotted a gill of beer a day after he returns, with the implication that this is part of his payment for supporting the farm leaders, the pigs.
• Dan Simmons' novel The Terror (2007) makes frequent references to gills of grog and rum.
• In Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, there are uses of the measure gill, with Israel Hands drinking a gill of brandy in the chapter "I Strike the Jolly Roger". In Stevenson's Kidnapped the protagonist, David Balfour, is "forced" "to drink about a gill" of brandy.
• In Melvyn Bragg's memoir Back in the Day, he recalls his grandfather in the pub with "a gill of bitter" in front of him.

Music

• The cumulative song "The Barley Mow" refers to "...the pint pot, half-a-pint, gill, half-a-gill, quarter-gill...".^[9]
• The traditional English folk song "Byker Hill" begins with the words, "If I had another penny, I would have another gill."
• The Fall's song "Edinburgh Man" contains the line "Keep me away from the Festival and just give me a warm quarter-gill."

Television

• A gill is also referenced in Archer season 2, episode 3 ("Blood Test") when Barry explains to Archer that a liter of blood is, "about 8 gills". (Eight gills would be 32 US fl oz, or 0.95 L.) A call back reference, also discussing units of blood, is further made in season 3, episode 3 ("Heart of Archness, Part 3"). In both instances, the word is pronounced with a hard ⟨g⟩.
• In 1990's "Bart the Genius," the second episode of The Simpsons, a child tricks Bart by offering, "I'll trade you 1,000 picoliters of my milk for four gills of yours." (A picoliter is a trillionth of a liter, so Bart is losing almost a pint of milk in this exchange.)

Mispronunciation

Because of its more widely used homograph, gill has sometimes been mispronounced with a hard g sound. In English, the sound of soft ⟨g⟩ is the affricate /dʒ/, as in general, giant, and gym.

• FX's animated cartoon Archer mispronounced gill in the episodes "Blood Test" (Season 2, Episode 3)^[10] and "Heart of Archness: Part Three" (Season 3, Episode 3).^[11]

Notes

1. after 1964 in Canada, 1976 in the UK
2. after 1964 redefinition of litre and 1959 redefinition of inch