Ancient Arabic units of measurement
Length
1/16 Arabic foot | ~2.25 cm | A finger-length | ||
cabda قبضة | 1/4 Arabic foot | ~9 cm | A palm-length | |
Arabic foot قدم عربية | ~32 cm | |||
cubit ذراع | Cubit, traditionally 2 Arabic feet, later 1.5 Arabic feet | A cubit-length | ||
orgye | 6 Arabic feet | ~1.92 m | A pace-length | |
qasab قصبة | 12 Arabic feet | ~3.84 m | A cane-length | |
seir | 600 Arabic feet | ~192 m | Also noted as a stadion, a stadium-length. | |
ghalva | 720 Arabic feet | ~230.4 m | ||
parasang | 18,000 Arabic feet | ~5.76 km | From Ancient Mesopotamian (Iraqi) parasang. Roughly analogous to an English league. | |
barid بريد | 4 parasang | ~23.04 km | ||
marhala مرحلة | 8 parasang | ~46.08 km | A village-length. |
See also
- Awqiyyah, the Arabic ounce or half-pound, depending on region.
- Qafiz, an Arabic unit for measuring volumes.
- The Arabic mile (al-mīl), a unit of length employed by Arab geographers and scientists
References
- Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights, and Measures: Their SI Equivalences and Origins, Springer, 2003, pp. 76–78, ISBN 9781852336820.
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