A number of different
units of measurement
A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...
were historically used in Cyprus to measure quantities like length, mass, area and capacity. Before the
Metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
, the
Imperial system
The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed th ...
was used. In between 1986-1988,
metric system
The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
was adopted in Cyprus.
Units used alongside the Imperial system
A number of units were used alongside the Imperial system.
Length
One pic was equal to 2 feet (0.6096 m).
Prior to the adoption of the metric system for units of length in 1986, this was the base unit for length. Other units used were the following:
1
inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
= 2.54 cm or foot, pic, or yard
1
foot
The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...
= 30.48 cm or 12 inches, pic, or yard
1
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English units, English unit of length in both the British imperial units, imperial and US United States customary units, customary systems of measurement equalling 3 foot (unit), feet or 36 inches. Sinc ...
= 0.9144 m or 3 feet, or pics
1
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...
= 20.1168 m or 66 feet, 33 pics, or 22 yards
1
mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...
= 1.609344 km or 5280 feet, 2640 pics, 1760 yards, or 80 chains
Area
One
donum
Donum may refer to:
* Dunam or Donum, a unit of area
* Regium Donum
The Regium Donum (Latin: "Royal Bounty") in British history was an annual grant to augment the income of poor Nonconformist clergy. There were separate grants for English Diss ...
was equal to 1337.803776 m
2 and was divided into 4 evleks, each of them covering 3600 sq. feet or 400 sq. yards; in Imperial units, a donum is equivalent to acre. The Greek name for donum is σκάλα.
Prior to the adoption of the metric system for units of area in 1986, this was the base unit for area. Other units used were the following:
1
square inch
A square inch (plural: square inches) is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of one inch. The following symbols are used to denote square inches:
*square in
*sq inches, sq inch, sq in
*inches/-2, inch/-2, in/-2
*inches^2, ...
= 6.4516 cm
2 or sq. feet
1
square foot
The square foot (; abbreviated sq ft, sf, or ft2; also denoted by '2 and ⏍) is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit (non- SI, non-metric) of area, used mainly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pa ...
= 0.09290304 m
2 or sq. yards, or 144 sq. inches
1
square yard
The square yard (Indian English, Northern India: guz, gaj, Pakistani English, Pakistan: gaz) is an imperial unit and U.S. customary unit of area. It is in widespread use in most of the English language, English-speaking world, particularly the U ...
= 0.83612736 m
2 or evleks, donums, or 9 square feet
1 evlek = 334.450944 m
2 or donum, 400 square yards, or 3600 square feet
1
square mile
The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi2)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is equa ...
= 2.589988110336 km
2 or 640
acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
s, or 1936 donums
Mass
One
oke was equal to exactly 2.8 pounds avoirdupois (1.270058636 kg) and was divided into 4 onjas, each of them weighing 100 drams.
Prior to the adoption of the metric system for units of mass in 1986, this was the base unit for mass. Other units used were the following:
1
dram
Dram, DRAM, or drams may refer to:
Technology and engineering
* Dram (unit), a unit of mass and volume, and an informal name for a small amount of liquor, especially whisky or whiskey
* Dynamic random-access memory, a type of electronic semicondu ...
= 3.17514659 g or oke; in Imperial units, it was equivalent to 49
grains
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and le ...
1 Cyprus litre = 2.2861055448 kg or okes or 720 drams; in Imperial units, it was equivalent to
pounds
1
kantar
A kantar is the official Egyptian weight unit for measuring cotton. It corresponds to the US hundredweight, and is roughly equal to 99.05 pounds, or 45.02 kilogram
The kilogram (also spelled kilogramme) is the base unit of mass in the Inte ...
= 55,882579984 kg or 44 okes, or Cyprus litres;
in Imperial units, it was equivalent to pounds
1 Aleppo kantar (used for carobs) = 228.61055448 kg or 180 okes, 100 Cyprus litres, or kantar; in Imperial units, it was equivalent to 504 pounds
1
ton
Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean:
* the '' long ton'', which is
* the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...
= 1016,0469088 kg or 800 okes, Cyprus litres, kantars, or Aleppo kantars; in Imperial units, it is equivalent to 20 long
cwt or 2240 pounds
Capacity
One
kilé was equal to 1 Imperial
bushel
A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an Imperial unit, imperial and United States customary units, US customary unit of volume, based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel was used mostly for agriculture, agricultural pr ...
or 8
gallons
The gallon is a unit of volume in British imperial units and United States customary units.
The imperial gallon (imp gal) is defined as , and is or was used in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, including Ireland, Canada, Australia, ...
, i.e. 36.368735032 L. Prior to the adoption of the metric system for units of capacity in 1986 (1988 for milk), this was the base unit for capacity
Other units used (for dry and liquid measures) were the following:
1
pint
The pint (, ; symbol pt, sometimes abbreviated as ''p'') is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems, it is one-eighth of a gallon.
The British imperial pint ...
= 568.261484875 mL or 20
fluid ounces
A fluid ounce (abbreviated fl oz, fl. oz. or oz. fl., old forms ℥, fl ℥, f℥, ƒ ℥) is a unit of volume (also called ''capacity'') typically used for measuring liquids. The British Imperial, the United States customary, and the United S ...
1
quart
The quart (symbol: qt) is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal ...
= 1.13652296975 L or 2 pints, or Cyprus litres
1 Cyprus oke = 1.27290572612 L or Cyprus litres
1 Cyprus litre = 3.1822643153 L or Cyprus okes, or quarts
1 gallon = 4.546091879 L or 4 quarts, or 8 pints
(The legal definition of the gallon and derived units in Cyprus was not the same as in the UK; in fact, the 1965 definition was used.)
1 kartos = 5.09162290448 L or 4 Cyprus okes, 1.6 Cyprus litres, or gallons
With regard to liquid measures, the following units were also used:
1 kouza = 10.22870672775 L or gallons, 9 quarts or 18 pints
1 gomari or load = 163.659307644 L or 16 kouzas, 36 gallons, 144 quarts, or 288 pints (used for grain too
).
References
Culture of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
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