QUART

unit of capacity in the British Imperial and U.S. Customary systems of measurement. The British system uses one standard quart for both liquid and dry measure, which is equal to two imperial pints, or 1/4 imperial gallon, or 69.36 cubic inches (1,136.52 cubic cm). The U.S. system has two units called a quart, one for liquid measure and a slightly larger unit for dry measure. The U.S. liquid quart is equal to two liquid pints, or 1/4 U.S. gallon, or 57.75 cubic inches (946.35 cubic cm); and the dry quart is equal to two dry pints, or 1/32 bushel, or 67.2 cubic inches (1,101.22 cubic cm). The quart was originally a medieval English unit of dry measure that was close to its modern equivalents in volume. By the time of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer's Miller's Tale (1370), it was also being used for liquids such as ale.