Acre
(1) Originally, any field, whatever its superficial area. (2) From about the time of Edward I. the word became more definite, and its limits were prescribed by the Statutes 31 and 35 Edward I., and 24 Henry VIII.
By the Act 5 George IV., the varying measures of the acre current in the kingreduced to were uniform dom standard. The imperial acre contains one ACRE 4,840 square yards, the Scottish one, 6,104.12789 square yards, and the Irish one, 7,840 square yards. The imperial nch is current in the United States. The old Roman jugerum, generally translated acre, was about five-eighths of the imperial acre.
ACRE (ä'kr), or ST. JEAN D'ACRE, a seaport of Syria, formerly called Ptolemais; on a promontory at the foot of Mount Carmel. It was taken by the first crusaders in 1104, retaken by the Saracens in 1187, recovered by the Christians under Richard Cœur de Lion, in 1191, and given to the Knights of St.
John of Jerusalem. In 1291 it again fell into the hands of the Saracens. Bonaparte attempted to storm this place in 1799, but retreated after a siege of 61 days. It was taken by Ibrahim Pasha, in 1832, and again by the combined English and Austrian squadrons, in 1840.