A unit of dry measure used in France and other parts of Europe, equivalent to roughly 13 liters or a bushel of grain.
From Old French 'boisseau,' likely derived from 'boite' (box or container) combined with a diminutive suffix, referring to a standard wooden measuring box used for grain.
The boisseau was literally a wooden box of standardized size—medieval merchants would carry these as their 'measuring device,' and disputes over grain prices often hinged on whether someone was using an official boisseau or a suspiciously larger homemade version.
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