Date:  Mon, 18 Aug 1997 16:45:08 -0400
From:  Gregory {Greg} Downing <downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IS2.NYU.EDU>
Subject: Re: ounce(s)

Jesse S. is right of course -- and OED2 will give you a bit more information
on how the abbreviation came into existence in Italian copyists' practice,
and how it was written in 16/17C English texts (with a z extending below the
base of the line, and connected to the o by a ligature). There's also a
reference to Cappelli's 1899 Dizionario di Abbreviature.

Greg Downing/NYU, at greg.downing[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nyu.edu or downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]is2.nyu.edu