List of human-based units of measure
Encyclopedia
This is a list of units of measure
based on human body parts or the attributes or abilities of humans. It does not include derived units further unless they are also themselves human-based. These units are thus considered to be human scale
and anthropocentric.
Units of measurement
A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention and/or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same physical quantity. Any other value of the physical quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of...
based on human body parts or the attributes or abilities of humans. It does not include derived units further unless they are also themselves human-based. These units are thus considered to be human scale
Human scale
Human scale is the set of physical quantities, and quantities of information, characterizing the human body, its motor, sensory, or mental capabilities, and human social institutions.- Science vs...
and anthropocentric.
Area
- QuinariaQuinariaA quinaria is a Roman unit of area, roughly equal to 4.2 square centimeters . Its primary use was to measure the cross-sectional area of pipes in Roman water distribution systems...
- the cross-sectional area of a pipe created from a flat sheet of lead 5 digits wide - StremmaStremmaThe stremma is a Greek unit of land area, equal to 1,000 square metres, also called the 'royal' stremma. The name comes from a root meaning 'to turn', presumably referring to the amount of land that can be plowed/turned in a day....
- the amount of land a person can plow in a day
Length
- AldAld (length)Ald is an old Mongolian measure equal to the length between a man's outstretched arms. An ald is therefore approximately equal to 160 cm.- History :...
- the distance between a man's outstretched arms - Assbā - Arabic finger
- Beard-second - the length a beard grows in a second
- Condylos - middle joint of finger
- CunCun (length)The cun 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 forefingers denotes 1.5 cun and the width of all fingers side-by-side is three cuns...
- width of the human thumb, at the knuckle - Dactylos - Ancient Roman finger breadth
- Digit - length of a human finger
- Digitus - Ancient Greek digit
- Etzba - fingerbreadth
- FathomFathomA fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
- the distance between the fingertips of a man's outstretched arms - Finger
- FistmeleFistmeleFistmele, also known as the "brace height", is an older term used in archery to describe the correct distance between a bow and its string. The term itself is a Saxon word indicating the measure of a clenched hand with the thumb extended....
- the measure of a clenched hand with the thumb extended - Gradus - Ancient Roman step
- Hand - breadth of a male human hand
- LeagueLeague (unit)A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
- the distance a person can walk in an hour (by one definition) - Lichas - thumb length
- Orgyia - Ancient Greek fathom
- ParasangParasangThe parasang is a historical Iranian unit of itinerant distance comparable to the European league.In antiquity, the term was used throughout much of the Middle East, and the Old Iranian language from which it derives can no longer be determined...
- the distance an infantryman could march in a predefined period of time - Pygmē - distance from elbow to base of fingers
- Sazhen - Russian fathom
- ShaftmentShaftmentThe shaftment is a unit of length, 6 - 6½ inches or 2 palms, i.e. 15.24 cm. A shaftment is the width of the fist and outstretched thumb. The lengths of poles, staves, etc...
- width of the fist and outstretched thumb - SmootSmootThe smoot is a nonstandard 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 lay on the Harvard Bridge , and was used by his fraternity brothers to measure the length of the bridge.-Unit...
- Oliver R. SmootOliver R. SmootOliver Reed Smoot, Jr. was Chairman of the American National Standards Institute from 2001 to 2002 and President of the International Organization for Standardization from 2003 to 2004...
's height in October 1958 - Span - width of a human hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the pinky
- Spithamē - Ancient Greek span
- YardYardA yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
- Zeret - Biblical span
Paces
- Haploun bēma - Ancient Greek single pace
- Orgye - Arabic pace
- Pace - a full stride, from heel to heel
- Passus - the pace step of a single legionary
Ells
- EllEllAn ell , is a unit of measurement, approximating the length of a man's arm.Several national forms existed, with different lengths, includingthe Scottish ell ,the Flemish ell ,the French ell...
- Ell (Scots) - length of an average person's arm
- Elle - German ell
- Amah - Biblical ell
Cubits
- Arsh - Arabic cubit
- CubitCubitThe cubit is a traditional unit of length, based on the length of the forearm. Cubits of various lengths were employed in many parts of the world in Antiquity, in the Middle Ages and into Early Modern Times....
- length of the human forearmForearm-See also:*Forearm flexors*Forearm muscles... - Macedonian cubitMacedonian cubitThe Macedonian cubit was a unit of measurement in use in ancient Macedon. It was approximately 14 inches long, making it somewhat shorter than other cubit measurements used in the ancient world....
- Cubitus - Ancient Roman cubit
- Pēchys - Ancient Greek cubit
Palms
- Cabda - Arabic palm
- Chetvert/Piad - Russian span/palm
- Palaistē/dōron - Ancient Greek palm
- Palm - breadth of four fingers
- Palmus - Ancient Roman palm
- Tefah/Tefach - Biblical palm
Inches
- Duym - Tatar thumb/inch
- InchInchAn 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...
- length of the thumb (by some definitions) - UnciaUncia (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....
- Roman inch - Zoll - German inch
Feet
- Foot - length of the human foot
- Arabic foot
- Fuß - German foot
- Russian fut - Russian foot
- Tatar fut - Tatar foot
- Klafter - German foot
- PesPes (length)A pes is an ancient Roman unit of length that roughly corresponds to a foot. There are twelve unciae in one pes. One pes is 11.6 inches or 29.5 centimeters. There are 2.5 pedes in one gradus....
- Roman foot - PousPousThe pous was a unit of length used through much of the Iron Age in Europe and the Ancient Near East.A pous is a Greek foot. One stadion is always 600 podes,...
- Greek foot
Time
- Nimesha - the time it takes for a person to blink
- Paramanu - interval of blinking in humans
Volume
- Choenix - a man's daily grain ration
- Finger tip unitFinger tip unitIn medicine, a finger tip unit is defined as the amount of ointment, cream or other semi-solid dosage form expressed from a tube with a 5mm diameter nozzle, applied from the distal skin-crease to the tip of the index finger of an adult. One FTU is enough to treat an area of skin twice the size...
- KokuKokuThe is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
- the amount of rice needed to feed a person for a year - Japanese masuMasu (Japanese)A was originally a square wooden box used to measure rice in Japan during the feudal period. Masu existed in many sizes, typically covering the range from one to to five gō...
- the amount of rice needed to feed a person for a day
Miscellaneous
- Fonzie - the amount of coolness inherent in FonzieFonzieArthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
- Garn - unit of measure for symptoms resulting from space adaptation syndromeSpace adaptation syndromeSpace adaptation syndrome or space sickness is a condition experienced by around half of space travelers during adaptation to weightlessness. It is related to motion sickness, as the vestibular system adapts to weightlessness.- Cause and remedy :...
; equal to complete incapacitation; named for Jake GarnJake GarnEdwin Jacob "Jake" Garn is an American politician, a member of the Republican Party, and served as a U.S. Senator representing Utah from 1974 to 1993...
See also
- :Category:Human-based units of measure
- History of measurementHistory of measurementUnits of measurement were among the earliest tools invented by humans. Primitive societies needed rudimentary measures for numerous tasks such as: constructing dwellings of an appropriate size and shape, fashioning clothing, or bartering food or raw materials....
- Units of measurementUnits of measurementA unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention and/or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same physical quantity. Any other value of the physical quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of...
- AnthropometryAnthropometryAnthropometry refers to the measurement of the human individual...
- Persian units of measurementPersian units of measurement-Ancient Persian units:An official system of weights and measures was established in the ancientPersian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty .-Length:-Volume:...
- Ancient Mesopotamian units of length