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distance from thumb-tip to tip of outstretched index finger [2] orthodōron ὀρθόδωρον: 11 daktyloi 211.9 mm (8.34 in) straight hand's width spithamē σπιθαμή: 12 daktyloi 231.2 mm (9.10 in) span of all fingers pous πούς: 16 daktyloi 308.2 mm (12.13 in) foot: pygmē πυγμή: 18 daktyloi 346.8 mm (13.65 in) forearm pygōn
Egyptian units of length are attested from the Early Dynastic Period.Although it dates to the 5th dynasty, the Palermo stone recorded the level of the Nile River during the reign of the Early Dynastic pharaoh Djer, when the height of the Nile was recorded as 6 cubits and 1 palm [1] (about 3.217 m or 10 ft 6.7 in).
In antiquity, systems of measurement were defined locally: the different units might be defined independently according to the length of a king's thumb or the size of his foot, the length of stride, the length of arm, or maybe the weight of water in a keg of specific size, perhaps itself defined in hands and knuckles. The unifying ...
vaaksa – The distance between the tips of little finger and thumb, when the fingers are fully extended. kyynärä – c. 60 cm – The distance from the elbow to the fingertips. syli – fathom, c. 180 cm – The distance between the fingertips of both hands when the arms are raised horizontally on the sides.
From these figures for the size of a Biblical ell, that of the basic unit — the finger-breadth (Etzba) — can be calculated to be either 2.1 or 2.2 cm (0.83 or 0.87 in); Rav Avraham Chaim Naeh approximates at 2 cm (0.79 in); Talmudic scholar Chazon Ish at 2.38 cm (0.94 in). The mile (Mil) is thus about 963 or 1146 meters (3160 or 3760 ft ...
Span (unit) A span is the distance measured by a human hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger. In ancient times, a span was considered to be half a cubit. Sometimes the distinction is made between the great span or full span (thumb to little finger) and little span or short span (thumb to index finger, or index finger ...
As in other Mannerist works, the proportions of the body – here the neck – are exaggerated for artistic effect. Body proportions is the study of artistic anatomy, which attempts to explore the relation of the elements of the human body to each other and to the whole. These ratios are used in depictions of the human figure and may become ...
A Roman steelyard weight of one dodrans, i.e. 3 ⁄ 4 libra. The units of weight or mass were mostly based on factors of 12. Several of the unit names were also the names of coins during the Roman Republic and had the same fractional value of a larger base unit: libra for weight and as for coin. Modern estimates of the libra range from 322 to ...