The stick may refer to several separate units, depending on the item being measured.

Length[edit]

In typography, the stick, stickful, or stick of type was an inexact length based on the size of the various composing sticks used by newspaper editors to assemble pieces of moveable type.^[1][2][3] In English-language papers, it was roughly equal to 2 column inches or 100–150 words.^[3] In France, Spain, and Italy, sticks generally contained only between 1 and 4 lines of text each.^[2] A column was notionally equal to 10 sticks.^[4][5]

Mass[edit]

In American cooking, a stick of butter is taken to be 4 ounces (about 113 g).^[6][7]

Volume[edit]

In American cooking, a stick of butter may also be understood as ½ cup or 8 tablespoons (about 118 mL).^[6][7]

See also[edit]

• English, imperial, and US customary units
• Traditional point-size names

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• "stick, n.¹", Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1916.
• Bloom, Carole (2007), The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking with Chocolate, Fruit, Nuts, Spices, and Other Ingredients, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 9780764576454.
• Natasha (2015), "Baking Conversions", Butter Baking: A Blog of Baked Goods, retrieved 30 April 2015.
• Campbell-Copeland, Thomas (1893), The Ladder of Journalism: How to Climb It, New York: Gibb Bros & Morgan for Allan Forman.
• Jackson, Hartley Everett (1937), 26 Lead Soldiers: Printing Types, Methods, Machines, Redwood City: Stanford University Press, ISBN 9780804710862.
• Pasko, Wesley Washington (1894), "Stickful", American Dictionary of Printing and Bookmaking: Containing a History of These Arts in Europe and America, with Definitions of Technical Terms and Biographical Sketches, New York: Howard Lockwood & Co., p. 529.
• Williamson, Richard D. (1984), "Glossary", Journalist 3&2, vol. 1, Naval Education & Training Program Development Center, hdl:2027/uiug.30112074941706.