Byzantine units of measurement
Byzantine units of measurement were a combination and modification of the ancient Greek and Roman units of measurement used in the Byzantine Empire. Until the reign of Justinian I (527–565), no univer
Wa (unit)
Wa (Thai: วา [wāː], also waa or wah, abbreviated ว.) is a unit of length, equal to two metres (2 m) or four sok (ศอก.) Wa as a verb means to outstretch (one's) arms to both sides, which relates to the
Parasang
The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the league. In modern terms the distance
Shaftment
The shaftment is an obsolete unit of length defined since the 12th century as 6 inches, which nowadays is exactly 152.4 mm. A shaftment was traditionally the width of the fist and outstretched thumb.
Ald (unit)
Ald is an obsolete Mongolian measure equal to the length between a man's outstretched arms. An ald is therefore approximately equal to 160–180 cm (63–71 in)
Endaze
Endaze is a defunct measurement unit of length used in the Ottoman Empire. Endaze means pace. But it is shorter than the pace. It was equal to 65.25 cm. It was usually used in the silk trade. Its sub
Human scale
Human scale is the set of physical qualities, and quantities of information, characterizing the human body, its motor, sensory, or mental capabilities, and human social institutions.
Digit (unit)
The digit or finger is an ancient and obsolete non-SI unit of measurement of length. It was originally based on the breadth of a human finger. It was a fundamental unit of length in the Ancient Egypti
Finger (unit)
A finger (sometimes fingerbreadth or finger's breadth) is any of several units of measurement that are approximately the width of an adult human finger, including: The digit, also known as digitus or
Fistmele
Fistmele, also known as the "brace height", is an older term used in archery to describe the correct distance (about seven inches, for a Northern European or English longbow) between a bow and its str
Kadem
Kadem (also ayak آیاق) is a defunct measurement unit used in the Ottoman Empire. Kadem means "foot" and during the last years of the Ottoman Empire 1 kadem was set to be 30.48 cm (1.000 ft) in accorda
Persian units of measurement
An official system of weights and measures was established in the ancient Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (550-350 BCE). The shekel and mina ("profane" or "sacred") were units of both weig
Obsolete Russian units of measurement
A native system of weights and measures was used in Imperial Russia and after the Russian Revolution, but it was abandoned after 21 July 1925, when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system, per the
Klafter
The klafter is an historical unit of length, volume and area that was used in Central Europe.
Picul
A picul /ˈpɪkəl/or tam is a traditional Asian unit of weight, defined as "as much as a man can carry on a shoulder-pole".
Phon
The phon is a logarithmic unit of loudness level for tones and complex sounds. Loudness is measured in sone which is a linear unit. Human sensitivity to sound is variable across different frequencies;
Ancient Arabic units of measurement
The Ancient Arabic unit of measurements were a system of using units to associate with physical quantities. Arabic symbols are used to represent the values. The measurements were based on body measure
Biblical mile
Biblical mile (Hebrew: מיל, romanized: mīl) is a unit of distance on land, or linear measure, principally used by Jews during the Herodian dynasty to ascertain distances between cities and to mark the
Stremma
The stremma (pl. stremmata; Greek: στρέμμα, strémma) is a Greek unit of land area equal to 1,000 square metres. Historically, stremmata were not standardized, and may have been anywhere from 900–1,900
Macedonian cubit
The Macedonian cubit was a unit of measurement in use in ancient Macedonia. It was approximately 14 inches long, making it somewhat shorter than other cubit measurements used in the ancient world.
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 m), used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an International Standar
Hand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length standardized to 4 in (101.6 mm). It is used to measure the height of horses in many English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the Repu
Pous
The pous (pl. podes; Greek: ποῦς, poûs) or Greek foot (pl. feet) was a Greek unit of length. It had various subdivisions whose lengths varied by place and over time. 100 podes made up one plethron, 60
Finger tip unit
In medicine, a finger tip unit (FTU) is defined as the amount of ointment, cream or other semi-solid dosage form expressed from a tube with a 5 mm diameter nozzle, applied from the distal skin-crease
Foot (unit)
The foot (pl. feet), standard symbol: ft, is a unit of length in the British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. The prime symbol, ′, is a customarily used alternative symbol.
Ancient Greek units of measurement
Ancient Greek units of measurement varied according to location and epoch. Systems of ancient weights and measures evolved as needs changed; Solon and other lawgivers also reformed them en bloc. Some
List of human-based units of measurement
This is a list of units of measurement based on human body parts or the attributes and abilities of humans (anthropometric units). It does not include derived units further unless they are also themse
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length. It was common in Europe and Latin America, but is no longer an official unit in any nation. Derived from an ancient Celtic unit and adopted by the Romans as the leuga, th
Masu (measurement)
A masu (枡 ("square") or 升 ("measure")) was originally a square wooden box used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period. In 1885 Japan signed the Convention du Mètre and in 1886 converted all
Yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement
Cun (unit)
A cun (Chinese: 寸), often glossed as the Chinese inch, is a traditional Chinese unit of length. Its traditional measure is the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle, whereas the width of the two fo
Quinaria
A quinaria (plural: quinariae) is a Roman unit of area, roughly equal to 4.2 square centimetres (0.65 in2). Its primary use was to measure the cross-sectional area of pipes in Roman water distribution
Sone
The sone (/ˈsoʊn/) is a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure. The study of perceived loudness is included in the topic of psychoacoustics and employs methods of psychophysics.
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer. Each city, kingdom and trade guild had its own standards until the formation of the A
Koku
The koku (石) is a Chinese-based Japanese unit of volume. 1 koku is equivalent to 10 (斗) or approximately 180 litres (40 imp gal; 48 US gal), or about 150 kilograms (330 lb). It converts, in turn, to 1
Cubit
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term cubit i
Ell
An ell (from Proto-Germanic *alinō, cognate with Latin ulna) is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). Th
Obsolete Tatar units of measurement
A native system of weights and measures was used by Tatars until 1924, but became obsolete when the Soviet Union adopted the metric system. The Tatar system shares many units with the Russian system (
Uncia (unit)
The uncia (plural: unciae) was a Roman unit of length, weight, and volume. It survived as the Byzantine liquid ounce (Greek: οὐγγία, oungía) and the origin of the English inch, ounce, and fluid ounce.
Pace (unit)
A pace is a unit of length consisting either of one normal walking step (approximately 0.75 metres or 30 inches), or of a double step, returning to the same foot (approximately 1.5 metres or 60 inches
Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement
Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement were used primarily by ancient Israelites and appear frequently within the Hebrew Bible as well as in later rabbinic writings, such as the Mishnah and Talmud
On Weights and Measures
On Weights and Measures is a historical, lexical, metrological, and geographical treatise compiled in 392 AD in Constantia by Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 315–403). The greater part of the work is devote
Palm (unit)
The palm is an obsolete anthropic unit of length, 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
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 mad
Smoot
The smoot /ˈsmuːt/ is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after Oliver R. Smoot, a fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, who in October 1958