
The palm is an obsolete
anthropic unit of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
, originally based on the width of the human palm and then variously standardized. The same name is also used for a second, rather larger unit based on the length of the human hand.
The width of the palm was a traditional unit in
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, and
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and in medieval
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, where it was also known as the hand,
[.] handbreadth,
[ or handsbreadth.][.]
The length of the hand—originally the Roman "greater palm"—formed the palm of medieval Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In Spanish customary units
There are a number of Spanish units of measurement of length or area that are virtually obsolete due to metrication. They include the vara, the cordel, the league and the labor. The units of area used to express the area of land are still encount ...
' or ' was the palm, while ' was the span, the distance between an outstretched thumb and little finger. In Portuguese ' or ' was the span.
History
Ancient Egypt
The Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
palm () has been reconstructed as about . The unit is attested as early as the reign of Djer, third pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
of the First Dynasty, and appears on many surviving cubit-rods.[
The palm was subdivided into four digits () of about .
Three palms made up the span () or lesser span () of about . Four palms made up the ]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 ...
() of about . Five made up the of about . Six made up the " Greek cubit" () of about . Seven made up the " royal cubit" () of about . Eight made up the pole () of about .
Ancient Israel
The palm was not a major unit in ancient Mesopotamia but appeared in ancient Israel
The history of ancient Israel and Judah spans from the Israelite highland settlement, early appearance of the Israelites in Canaan's hill country during the late second millennium BCE, to the establishment and subsequent downfall of the two ...
as the ,[ ,][ or ][ (, ."a spread"). Scholars were long uncertain as to whether this was reckoned using the Egyptian or Babylonian cubit,][.] but now believe it to have approximated the Egyptian "Greek cubit", giving a value for the palm of about .[.]
As in Egypt, the palm was divided into four digits ([ or ) of about and three palms made up a span () of about .][ Six made up the Hebrew cubit (][ or ) of about , although the cubits mentioned in ]Ezekiel
Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him.
The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...
follow the royal cubit in consisting of seven palms comprising about .[
]
Ancient Greece
The Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
palm (, ''palaistḗ'', , ''dō̂ron'', or , ''daktylodókhmē'')[ made up ¼ of the Greek foot (''poûs''), which varied by region between .][.] This gives values for the palm between , with the Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
palm around .[.]
These various palms were divided into four digits (''dáktylos'') or two "middle phalanges" (''kóndylos'').[ Two palms made a half-foot (''hēmipódion'' or ''dikhás''); three, a span (''spithamḗ''); four, a ]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 ...
(''poûs'');[ five, a short cubit (''pygōn'');][.] and six, a cubit
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...
(''pē̂khys'').[
The Greeks also had a less common "greater palm" of five digits.][
]
Ancient Rome
The Roman palm () or lesser palm (') made up ¼ of the Roman foot
The units of measurement of ancient Rome were generally consistent and well documented.
Length
The basic unit of Roman linear measurement was the ''pes'' (plural: ''pedes'') or Roman foot. Investigation of its relation to the English units#Leng ...
('), which varied in practice between but is thought to have been officially .[ This would have given the palm a notional value of within a range of a few millimeters.][
The palm was divided into four digits (') of about or three ]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 ...
es (') of about . Three made a span (' or "greater palm") of about ; four, a Roman foot
The units of measurement of ancient Rome were generally consistent and well documented.
Length
The basic unit of Roman linear measurement was the ''pes'' (plural: ''pedes'') or Roman foot. Investigation of its relation to the English units#Leng ...
; five, a hand-and-a-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 ...
(') of about ; six, a cubit (') of about .[
]
Continental Europe
The palms of medieval () and early modern Europe—the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese ' and French '—were based upon the Roman "greater palm", reckoned as a hand's span or length.
In Italy, the palm () varied regionally. The Genovese palm was about ;[ in the ]Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
, the Roman palm about according to Hutton but divided into the Roman "architect's palm" (') of about and "merchant's palm" (') of about according to Greaves;[ and the Neapolitan palm reported as by Riccioli but by Hutton's other sources.][ On ]Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
and Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, it was .[
In France, the palm ( or ') was about in ]Pernes-les-Fontaines
Pernes-les-Fontaines (; officially Pernes until 1936; Occitan: ''Pèrnas dei Fònts'' or simply ''Pèrnas'') is a commune in the southeastern French department of Vaucluse.
Population
Its inhabitants are called ''Pernois'' and ''Pernoises'' i ...
, Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019. ,[ and about in ]Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
.[
Palaiseau gave metric equivalents for the ''palme'' or ''palmo'' in 1816,][ and Rose provided English equivalents in 1900:
From 19th C. Italian sources][Angelo Martini. ]
Manuale di metrologia ossia Misure, Pesi e Monete in uso attualmente e anticamente presso tutti i popoli antichi
' - (in Italian) - andbook of Metrology i.e. Measures, Weights and Coins in Current and Ancient Use by All Ancient Peoples- Editrice E.C.A. (Roma 1976), facsimile reprint of the original Turin edition of 1883 emerges that :
- the ancient Venetian palm, five of which made a passo ( pace), was equivalent to 0.3774 metres.
- the Neapolitan palm = 0.26333670 metres ''(from 1480 to 1840)''
- the Neapolitan palm = 0.26455026455 metres ''(according to the law of 6 April 1840)''
which differs from previously cited palm measure equivalents in metres above.
England
The English palm, handbreadth, or handsbreadth is three 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 ...
es[ (7.62 cm) or, equivalently, four digits.][ The measurement was, however, not always well distinguished from the ]hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...
or handful,[ which became equal to four inches by a 1541 statute of Henry VIII.][ The palm was excluded from the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 that established the imperial system and is not a standard US customary unit.
]
Elsewhere
The Moroccan palm is given by Hutton as about .[
]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palm, Unit
Units of length
Human-based units of measurement
Obsolete units of measurement