Hand (unit)
Encyclopedia
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. It is today equal to four inches, and thus, following the adoption of the international inch in 1959, equal to exactly 10.16 centimetres. It may be abbreviated to "h" or the plural "hh". Although measurements between whole hands are usually expressed in what appears to be decimal format, the subdivision of the hand is not decimal but is in base 4
, that is, subdivisions after the radix
point are in quarters.
unit, originally based on the breadth of a male
human
hand, either with or without the thumb, or on the height of a clenched fist.
On surviving Ancient Egyptian
cubit-rods, the royal cubit is divided into seven palms of four digits
or fingers
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 hand was about 94 mm.
the hand measurement, as for example in the Vision of the Temple, Authorized Version , is usually taken to be palm
or handbreadth, and in modern translations may be rendered as "handbreadth" or "three inches".
s, ponies
, and other equines
. It is used in several countries, including the USA
and some that have formally adopted the metric system, such as Australia
, Canada
, Ireland
and the UK
. In most of the world, including continental Europe, and in all FEI
-regulated international competition, horses are measured in metric units, usually metres or centimetres. In some countries, such as South Africa
, measurements may be given in both hands and centimetres.
In those countries where hands are the usual unit for measuring horse height, inches rather than hands are commonly used in the measurement of miniature horses, miniature ponies, miniature mules, donkeys, and Shetland ponies.
A horse is measured from the ground to the top of the highest non-variable point of the skeleton, the withers
. For official measurement, the spinous process of the fifth thoracic vertebra may be identified by palpation, and marked if necessary. Miniature horses, but not miniature ponies, may be measured at the base of the last true hairs of the mane
rather than at the withers.
For international competition regulated by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and for USEF competition in the USA, a horse can be measured with shoes on or off. In the United Kingdom
much official measurement of horses is overseen by the Joint Measurement Board (JMB). For JMB purposes, the shoes must be removed before measurement and the hooves correctly prepared for shoeing.
To convert inches to hands, the number is divided by four, then the remainder is added after the radix point. Thus, a horse that measures 60 inches is 15 hands high (15 x 4 -60) and a horse halfway between 15 and 16 hands, 62 inches tall, is 15.2 hands.(15 x 4 +2=62) Because this is a base 4 system a horse 64 inches high is not 15.4, but rather is 16.0 hands high. The term "15.5" is also incorrect, as it would read 15 hands and five inches high, when a hand is four inches. It does not mean a horse halfway between 15 and 16 hands.
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...
unit 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...
, now used only for the measurement of the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. With 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 was originally based on the breadth of a human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
hand. It is today equal to four inches, and thus, following the adoption of the international inch in 1959, equal to exactly 10.16 centimetres. It may be abbreviated to "h" or the plural "hh". Although measurements between whole hands are usually expressed in what appears to be decimal format, the subdivision of the hand is not decimal but is in base 4
Radix
In mathematical numeral systems, the base or radix for the simplest case is the number of unique digits, including zero, that a positional numeral system uses to represent numbers. For example, for the decimal system the radix is ten, because it uses the ten digits from 0 through 9.In any numeral...
, that is, subdivisions after the radix
Radix
In mathematical numeral systems, the base or radix for the simplest case is the number of unique digits, including zero, that a positional numeral system uses to represent numbers. For example, for the decimal system the radix is ten, because it uses the ten digits from 0 through 9.In any numeral...
point are in quarters.
Ancient Egypt
The hand, sometimes also called a handbreadth or handsbreadth, is an anthropicAnthropic units
Anthropic units are units of measurement which explicitly arose from human physiology or behavior. Some were derived directly from the dimensions of the human body, and as such, are commonly referred to as anthropomorphic...
unit, originally based on the breadth of a male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
hand, either with or without the thumb, or on the height of a clenched fist.
On surviving Ancient Egyptian
Ancient 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 palms of four digits
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...
or fingers
Finger (unit)
A finger , is usually seven eighths of an inch or 2.2225 cm . The width of an adult human male finger tip is indeed about two centimetres. The inch, on the other hand, originates in the breadth of a thumb. In English this unit has mostly fallen out of use....
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 hand was about 94 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 |
Biblical use
In Biblical exegesisExegesis
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...
the hand measurement, as for example in the Vision of the Temple, Authorized Version , is usually taken to be palm
Palm (unit)
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...
or handbreadth, and in modern translations may be rendered as "handbreadth" or "three inches".
Britain
The hand is a traditional unit in Britain. It was standardised at four inches by a statute of King Henry VIII in 1541, but some confusion between the various types of hand measurement, and particularly between the hand and the handsbreadth, appears to have persisted. Phillips's dictionary of 1706 gives four inches for the length of the handful or hand, and 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".Use in measuring horses
Today the hand is used for measurement of the height of horseHorse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, ponies
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
, and other equines
Equus (genus)
Equus is a genus of animals in the family Equidae that includes horses, donkeys, and zebras. Within Equidae, Equus is the only extant genus. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. This article deals primarily with the extant species.The term equine...
. It is used in several countries, including the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and some that have formally adopted the metric system, such as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In most of the world, including continental Europe, and in all FEI
FEI
FEI may refer to:* Financial Executives International , an American organization for senior-level financial executives* FEI Company, a supplier of electron microscopy tools...
-regulated international competition, horses are measured in metric units, usually metres or centimetres. In some countries, such as South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, measurements may be given in both hands and centimetres.
In those countries where hands are the usual unit for measuring horse height, inches rather than hands are commonly used in the measurement of miniature horses, miniature ponies, miniature mules, donkeys, and Shetland ponies.
A horse is measured from the ground to the top of the highest non-variable point of the skeleton, the withers
Withers
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of a four-legged animal. In many species it is the tallest point of the body, and in horses and dogs it is the standard place to measure the animal's height .-Horses:The withers in horses are formed by the dorsal spinal processes of roughly the...
. For official measurement, the spinous process of the fifth thoracic vertebra may be identified by palpation, and marked if necessary. Miniature horses, but not miniature ponies, may be measured at the base of the last true hairs of the mane
Mane (horse)
The mane is the hair that grows from the top of the neck of a horse or other equine, reaching from the poll to the withers, and includes the forelock or foretop. It is thicker and coarser than the rest of the horse's coat, and naturally grows to roughly cover the neck...
rather than at the withers.
For international competition regulated by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and for USEF competition in the USA, a horse can be measured with shoes on or off. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
much official measurement of horses is overseen by the Joint Measurement Board (JMB). For JMB purposes, the shoes must be removed before measurement and the hooves correctly prepared for shoeing.
Terminology
It may be abbreviated to "h", or "hh". The "hh" form is sometimes interpreted as standing for "hands high." Because this is a base 4 system a horse 64 inches high is not 15.4, but rather is 16.0 hands high. When spoken aloud, hands are stated by numbers, 15.0 is "fifteen hands", 15.2 is alternately "fifteen-two" or "fifteen hands, two inches," and so on.To convert inches to hands, the number is divided by four, then the remainder is added after the radix point. Thus, a horse that measures 60 inches is 15 hands high (15 x 4 -60) and a horse halfway between 15 and 16 hands, 62 inches tall, is 15.2 hands.(15 x 4 +2=62) Because this is a base 4 system a horse 64 inches high is not 15.4, but rather is 16.0 hands high. The term "15.5" is also incorrect, as it would read 15 hands and five inches high, when a hand is four inches. It does not mean a horse halfway between 15 and 16 hands.