Anthropic unit of length, based on the width of the human palm
A diagram of various units derived from the human hand. The palm (3) was originally the width of the palm but was standardized as the somewhat smaller width of fourdigits (6). The relatedshaftment (1) andhand (2) were the width of the palm plus an open or closed thumb. The other units are thespan (4) andfinger (5).
Thepalm is an obsoleteanthropicunit oflength, originally based on the width of the human palm and then variously standardized. The same name is also used for a second, rather larger unit based on the length of the human hand.[1]
The length of the hand—originally theRoman "greater palm"—formed the palm of medievalItaly andFrance. InSpanish customary unitspalmo menor orcoto was the palm, whilepalmo was thespan, the distance between an outstretched thumb and little finger. InPortuguesepalmo orpalmo de craveira was thespan.[citation needed]
The palm was subdivided into fourdigits (djeba) of about 19 mm (0.75 in).
Three palms made up thespan (pedj) or lesser span (pedj-sheser) of about 22.5 cm (9 in). Four palms made up thefoot (djeser) of about 30 cm (1 ft). Five made up theremen of about 37.5 cm (1 ft 3 in). Six made up the "Greek cubit" (meh nedjes) of about 45 cm (1 ft 6 in). Seven made up the "royal cubit" (meh niswt) of about 52.5 cm (1 ft 9 in). Eight made up the pole (nbiw) of about 60 cm (2 ft).
The palm was not a majorunit in ancient Mesopotamia but appeared inancient Israel as thetefah,[7]tepah,[8] ortopah[8] (Hebrew:טפח,lit."a spread").[9] Scholars were long uncertain as to whether this was reckoned using the Egyptian or Babylonian cubit,[7] but now believe it to have approximated the Egyptian "Greek cubit", giving a value for the palm of about 74 mm or 2.9 in.[8]
As in Egypt, the palm was divided into fourdigits (etzba[7] oretsba) of about 18.5 mm (0.73 in) and three palms made up aspan (zeret) of about 22.1 cm (9 in).[8] Six made up the Hebrew cubit (amah[7] orammah) of about 44.3 cm (1 ft 5 in), although the cubits mentioned inEzekiel[10] follow the royal cubit in consisting of seven palms comprising about 51.8 centimeters (1 ft 8 in).[8]
TheAncient Greek palm (Ancient Greek:παλαιστή,palaistḗ,δῶρον,dō̂ron, orδακτυλοδόχμη,daktylodókhmē)[11] made up ¼ of theGreek foot (poûs), which varied by region between 27–35 cm (11 in – 1 ft 2 in).[12] This gives values for the palm between 6.7–8.8 cm (2.6–3.5 in), with theAttic palm around 7.4 cm (2.9 in).[13]
These various palms were divided into fourdigits (dáktylos) or two "middle phalanges" (kóndylos).[13] Two palms made a half-foot (hēmipódion ordikhás); three, aspan (spithamḗ); four, afoot (poûs);[13] five, a short cubit (pygōn);[14] and six, acubit (pē̂khys).[13]
The Greeks also had a less common "greater palm" of fivedigits.[15]
The Roman palm (Latin:palmus) or lesser palm (palmus minor) made up ¼ of theRoman foot (pes), which varied in practice between 29.2–29.7 cm (11.5–11.7 in)[16] but is thought to have been officially 29.6 cm (11.7 in).[14] This would have given the palm a notional value of 7.4 cm (2.9 in) within a range of a few millimeters.[17]
The palm was divided into fourdigits (digitus) of about 1.85 cm (0.7 in) or threeinches (uncia) of about 2.47 cm (1.0 in). Three made aspan (palmus maior or "greater palm") of about 22.2 cm (9 in);[d] four, aRoman foot; five, a hand-and-a-foot (palmipes) of about 37 cm (1 ft 3 in); six, a cubit (cubitus) of about 44.4 cm (1 ft 5.5 in).[19]
The palms of medieval (Latin:palma)[20] and early modern Europe—theItalian,Spanish, andPortuguesepalmo andFrenchpalme—were based upon the Roman "greater palm", reckoned as a hand'sspan or length.
In Italy, the palm (Italian:palmo) varied regionally. TheGenovese palm was about 24.76–24.85 cm (9.7–9.8 in);[15][11][e] in thePapal States, the Roman palm about 21.05 cm (8.3 in) according toHutton but divided into the Roman "architect's palm" (palmo di architetti) of about 22.32 cm (8.8 in) and "merchant's palm" (palmo del braccio di mercantia) of about 21.21 cm (8.4 in) according toGreaves;[11][f] and theNeapolitan palm reported as 20.31 cm (8.0 in) byRiccioli but 21.80 cm (8.6 in) by Hutton's other sources.[15] OnSicily andMalta, it was 24.61 cm (9.7 in).[24]
^Over time, thehand has developed into a separate unit now used especially for measuring the height of horses. This hand, including the width of the thumb, is reckoned as 4 inches or 102 millimeters.[2]
^In present usage, a "handbreadth" or "handsbreadth" is no longer taken as a proper unit but as a simple vague reckoning based on the human hand.[3]
^More specifically, the 14 cubit-rods described byLepsius in 1865 show a range from 74.7–75.6 mm (2.94–2.98 in).[4]
^Despite the equality of this unit with other systems' spans, theEncyclopédie glossed the "greater palm" as the length rather than the breadth of the hand.[18]
^UnlikeGreaves, who used theGuildhall standard foot, Hutton based his measurements on the fractured yard at theExchequer,[21] about 1% of an inch shorter than the present yard.[22] Hutton'sline is reckoned as the1⁄12th part of an inch.[23]
^A sign inVaucluse,France, claims the Roman palm was identical to its own 24.61 cm (9.7 in) standard.[24]
^An exact figure since the adoption of theinternational yard and pound agreement during the 1950s and '60s by the nations using the English system.
^Mortimer, e.g., notes that during his time "The hand among horse-dealers, &c. is four-fingers' breadth, being the fist clenched, whereby the height of a horse is measured",[31] showing a confusion of the notional separation of "palms", "hands", and "fists".
^abcde"Weights and Measures",Oxford Biblical Studies Online, Oxford: Oxford University Press, archived fromthe original on 10 March 2022, retrieved15 January 2017.
^Rose, Joshua (1900).Pattern Makers Assistant (9th ed.). New York: D. van Nostrand Co. p. 264.
^"Antichi pesi e misure" [Ancient weights and measures (PDF), retrieved via Wayback Machine](PDF).www.calitritradizioni.it (in Italian). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 6 January 2012. Retrieved26 January 2010.
^abEdward Phillips, John Kersey (editor) (1706). [https://archive.org/details/b30452600The New World of Words: or, Universal English Dictionary. Containing an Account of the Original or Proper Sense, and Various Significations of all Hard Words derived from other Languages ..., the sixth edition, revised ... with the addition of near twenty thousand words ...). London: J. Phillips.
