Palm (unit)
Encyclopedia
The palm may be either one of two obsolete non-SI
units of measurement of length
.
In English usage the palm, or small palm, also called handbreadth or handsbreadth, was originally based on the breadth of a human
hand without the thumb, and has origins in ancient Egypt
. It is distinct from the hand
, the breadth of the hand with the thumb, and from the fist, the height of a clenched fist. It is usually taken to be equal to four digit
s or fingers, or to three inch
es, which, following the adoption of the international inch in 1959, equals exactly 7.62 centimetres. It is today used only in the field of biblical exegesis
, where opinions may vary as to its precise historic length.
In other areas, such as parts of continental Europe, the palm related to the length of the hand, and derived from the Roman great palm, the .
cubit-rods, the royal cubit is divided into seven palm
s of four digit
s each. Five digits are equal to a hand, with thumb; and six to a closed fist. The royal cubit measured approximately 525 mm, so the length of the ancient Egyptian palm was about 75 mm.
, there were two types of palm in ancient Rome: "the great palm was the length of the hand and contained twelve digits or nine inches; and the small palm, across the hand, was of four digits or three inches". Smith gives this table of equivalence between the smaller Roman units of length, to which approximate modern metric equivalents are added:
In English measurements
, the handsbreadth has mostly fallen out of use.
:
Palaiseau, writing in 1816, gives these metric equivalents for the palme or palmo:
According to a sign displayed in Pernes-les-Fontaines
, Vaucluse
, France, a palme or palm of
246.1 mm was in use there in the 17th century, and was one eighth of a canne. The same proportion applied in Malta
, at Rome and at Palermo.
Si
Si, si, or SI may refer to :- Measurement, mathematics and science :* International System of Units , the modern international standard version of the metric system...
units of measurement of length
Length
In geometric measurements, length most commonly refers to the longest dimension of an object.In certain contexts, the term "length" is reserved for a certain dimension of an object along which the length is measured. For example it is possible to cut a length of a wire which is shorter than wire...
.
In English usage the palm, or small palm, also called handbreadth or handsbreadth, was originally based on the breadth of a human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
hand without the thumb, and has origins in ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. It is distinct from the hand
Hand (unit)
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand...
, the breadth of the hand with the thumb, and from the fist, the height of a clenched fist. It is usually taken to be equal to four digit
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...
s or fingers, or to three inch
Inch
An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es, which, following the adoption of the international inch in 1959, equals exactly 7.62 centimetres. It is today used only in the field of biblical exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
, where opinions may vary as to its precise historic length.
In other areas, such as parts of continental Europe, the palm related to the length of the hand, and derived from the Roman great palm, the .
Ancient Egypt
On surviving Ancient EgyptianAncient Egyptian units of measurement
-Length:Units of length date back to at least the early dynastic period. In the Palermo stone for instance the level of the Nile river is recorded. During the reign of Pharaoh Djer the height of the river Nile was given as measuring 6 cubits and 1 palm...
cubit-rods, the royal cubit is divided into seven palm
Palm
Palm may refer to :* Palm, the central region of the front of the hand, see Hand#Human anatomy or metacarpus.-People:* August Palm , Swedish socialist activist* Conny Palm, , Swedish electrical engineer and statistician...
s of four digit
Digit
Digit may refer to:* Digit , one of several most distal parts of a limb—fingers, thumbs, and toes on hands and feet* Numerical digit, as used in mathematics or computer science* Hexadecimal, representing a four-bit number...
s each. Five digits are equal to a hand, with thumb; and six to a closed fist. The royal cubit measured approximately 525 mm, so the length of the ancient Egyptian palm was about 75 mm.
| Name | | Egyptian name | 7 palms or 28 digits | 525 mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fist | 6 digits | 108 mm | |
| Hand | 5 digits | 94 mm | |
| Palm | |
4 digits | 75 mm |
| Digit | |
1/4 palm | 19 mm |
Ancient Rome
The ancient Roman system of linear measurement was based on the pes or standard Roman foot, which was divided into 16 digits or, in later times into 12 uncia or pollex, Roman inches. According to the EncyclopédieEncyclopédie
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert...
, there were two types of palm in ancient Rome: "the great palm was the length of the hand and contained twelve digits or nine inches; and the small palm, across the hand, was of four digits or three inches". Smith gives this table of equivalence between the smaller Roman units of length, to which approximate modern metric equivalents are added:
| Name | Latin name | Equivalent Roman value | Metric equivalent | |||
| Digit | Inch | Palm | Foot | |||
| Digit | digitus | 1 | 18.5 mm | |||
| Inch | uncia Uncia (length) An ' is an ancient Roman unit of length that roughly corresponds to an inch. One uncia is 0.97 inches or 24.6 millimeters. There are twelve in one pes.... orpollex |
1 | 1 | 24.6 mm | ||
| Palm | palmus minor | 4 | 3 | 1 | 74 mm | |
| Great palm | palmus major | 12 | 9 | 3 | 222 mm | |
| Foot | pes | 16 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 296 mm |
| Foot + palm | palmipes | 20 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 370 mm |
| Cubit | cubitus | 24 | 18 | 6 | 444 mm | |
| Metric equivalents are based on the estimated value 1 pes = 296 mm | ||||||
The English palm, the width of the hand
In English usage, the palm or handsbreadth is generally taken to be three inches. Some confusion between the various types of hand measurement, and particularly between the hand and the handsbreadth, appears to have persisted in Britain for several centuries after the hand was standardised at four inches by a statute of King Henry VIII in 1541. Phillips's dictionary of 1706 gives four inches for the length of the handful or hand, but three inches for the handsbreadth; Mortimer gives the same, three inches for the Hand's-breadth, and four for the "Handful, or simply, Hand", but adds thus equating "hand" with both the palm and the fist. Similarly, Wright's 1831 translation of Buffon mentions "A hand breadth (palmus), the breadth of the four fingers of the hand, or three inches", but the Encyclopædia Perthensis of 1816 gives under Palm (4): "A hand, or measure of lengths comprising three inches".In English measurements
English unit
English units are the historical units of measurement used in England up to 1824, which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units...
, the handsbreadth has mostly fallen out of use.
The Continental palm, the length of the hand
In various parts of Europe and the Mediterranean, the palm was based on the length of the hand rather than the width. Greaves in 1647 gives equivalents for three kinds of palm, the Roman palmo di Architetti or architect's palm, the Roman palmo del braccio di mercantia or commercial palm, and the Genoa palm. In 1795 (and again in 1815) these values were reported by Charles HuttonCharles Hutton
Charles Hutton was an English mathematician.Hutton was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne. He was educated in a school at Jesmond, kept by Mr Ivison, a clergyman of the Church of England...
:
| City | Inches | Metric equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Rome | 8 | 211 mm |
| Naples, as reported by Riccioli | 8 | 203 mm |
| Naples, as reported by others | 8 | 218 mm |
| Genoa | 9 | 248 mm |
| Morocco and Fez | 7 | 182 mm |
| Languedoc and some other parts of France | 9 | 248 mm |
| Metric equivalents are approximate, and do not take account of possible regional variations in the inch | ||
Palaiseau, writing in 1816, gives these metric equivalents for the palme or palmo:
| City | Lignes | Metric equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Florence (for silk, p.146) | 131.63 | [297] mm |
| Florence (for wool, p.146) | 128.38 | 289.6 mm |
| Genoa (cloth measure, p.148) | 106.9 | 241.1 mm |
| Genoa (linear measure, p.91) | 107.43 | 242.3 mm |
| Livorno (for silk, p.157) | 128.41 | 289.7 mm |
| Livorno (for wool, p.157) | 130.08 | 293.4 mm |
| Malta (cloth measure, p.160) | 114.49 | 258.3 mm |
| Malta (linear measure, p.98) | 115.28 | 260.0 mm |
| Palermo (cloth measure, p.168) | 107.16 | 241.7 mm |
| Portugal (p.109) | 96.36 | 217.4 mm |
| Rome (cloth measure, p.173) | 109.52 | 247.1 mm |
| Rome (linear measure, p.111) | 99 | [223] mm |
| Metric equivalents in the source here rounded to 0.1 mm | ||
According to a sign displayed in Pernes-les-Fontaines
Pernes-les-Fontaines
Pernes-les-Fontaines is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-References:*...
, Vaucluse
Vaucluse
The Vaucluse is a department in the southeast of France, named after the famous spring, the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.- History :Vaucluse was created on 12 August 1793 out of parts of the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône, Drôme, and Basses-Alpes...
, France, a palme or palm of
246.1 mm was in use there in the 17th century, and was one eighth of a canne. The same proportion applied in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, at Rome and at Palermo.