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I am looking for some circular labels on eBay ("Warranty void if removed" - I guess you know these things stuck on computers).

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The listing states:

100 round bright silver tamper evident hologram labels - Warranty Void If Removed with unique sequential serial numbering.

Dimensions: .65 inch round

Does "XX inch round" customarily refer to the radius or the diameter circular things?

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2  
Probably best to ask the seller. – Barrie England Dec 30 '12 at 20:01
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Probably diameter, but maybe circumference. You have to ask. This is not an English question. – tchrist Dec 30 '12 at 20:03
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Possibly it is short for an 0.65 inch wide label of the shape "round". Therefore 0.65 is also the diameter of the circular shape it takes. – MετάEd Dec 30 '12 at 20:05
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If it was 0.65" circumference, the diameter would be very small indeed! – Andrew Leach Dec 30 '12 at 20:12
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I rephrased the question; I believe that asking about how a particular phrasing is usually interpreted is on-topic here, even if the answer is "there isn't a usual interpretation." – KitFox♦ Dec 30 '12 at 22:02
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1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Size measurements for round objects generally specify the diameter of the object, so normally "0.65 inches round" would be assumed to be a sticker that is 0.65 inches across. This is generally true of buttons, sequins, and other such small sundries.

If it were specifying circumference, it would likely read "0.65 inches around" instead.

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Just as an aside, I find 0.65 inches to be a somewhat odd measurement, in that I would much more expect to see ⅔″ than the remarkably precise ⁶⁵⁄₁₀₀″ instead. – tchrist Dec 30 '12 at 22:10
I'd be willing to bet that it is designed to cover a particular size screw hole. A typical rack screw, for instance, has about a 0.21 inch screw head, so you'd have 0.22 inch coverage all around that. – KitFox♦ Dec 30 '12 at 22:17
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I think your answer is correct, but I'd like to chime in and say that, in any product listing, I wish sellers would use a more precise term (like "diameter") as opposed to ambiguous descriptors such as "round". – J.R. Dec 31 '12 at 1:30

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