cubit

cubit
   a historic unit of distance frequently mentioned in the Bible. The word comes from the Latin cubitum, "elbow," because the unit represents the length of a man's forearm from his elbow to the tip of his outstretched middle finger. This distance tends to be about 18 inches or roughly 45 centimeters. In ancient times, the cubit was usually defined to equal 24 digits or 6 palms. The Egyptian royal or "long" cubit, however, was equal to 28 digits or 7 palms. In the English system, the digit is conventionally identified as 3/4 inch; this makes the ordinary cubit exactly 18 inches (45.72 centimeters). The Roman cubit was shorter, about 44.4 centimeters (17.5 inches). The ordinary Egyptian cubit was just under 45 centimeters, and most authorities estimate the royal cubit at about 52.35 centimeters (20.61 inches).

Dictionary of units of measurement. 2015.

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  • Cubit — Cu bit (k[=u] b[i^]t), n. [L. cubitum, cubitus; elbow, ell, cubit, fr. (because the elbow serves for leaning upon) cubare to lie down, recline; cf. Gr. ky biton elbow, ky ptein to bend, stoop, kyfo s bent, stooping, humpbacked. Cf. {Incumbent},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cubit — ist eine alte ägyptische und sumerische Maßeinheit, siehe dazu Alte Maße und Gewichte (Antike) ein altes anglo amerikanisches bzw. britisches Maß ein Längenmaß, siehe Cubit (Einheit) eine in der Fernsehserie Kampfstern Galactica benutzte Währung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • cubit — ► NOUN ▪ an ancient measure of length, approximately equal to the length of a forearm. ORIGIN Latin cubitum elbow, forearm, cubit …   English terms dictionary

  • cubit — [kyo͞o′bit] n. [ME & OE < L cubitum, the elbow, cubit: for IE base see CUBE1] an ancient unit of linear measure, about 18 22 inches (45.4 55.5 cm); orig., the length of the arm from the end of the middle finger to the elbow …   English World dictionary

  • Cubit — (engl., spr. Kjuhbit), 1) altes englisches Längenmaß = 18 engl. Zoll = 202,67 Par. Linien; daher 2) als solches in Indien sehr gewöhnlich, so v.w. Covid …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Cubit — (spr. kjūbĭt, »Vorderarm«), älteres engl. Maß zu 2 Span von 6 Palm = 45,719 cm. Als Covid in der Präsidentschaft Madras noch gebräuchlich …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cubit — (spr. kjuhbĭt, vom lat. cubĭtus, Ellbogen, Vorderarm, als Maß Elle), älteres engl. Ellenmaß = 1/2 Yard = 0,457 m; in Ostindien noch unter dem Namen Covid, Covit in Gebrauch …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Cubit — (Kiubit), die alte engl. Elle = 2022/3 Par. Linien …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • cubit — (n.) ancient unit of measure based on the forearm from elbow to fingertip, usually from 18 to 22 inches, early 14c., from L. cubitum the elbow, from PIE *keu(b) to bend. Such a measure, known by a word meaning forearm or the like, was known to… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Cubit — Not to be confused with the quantum computing concept Qubit. For the bone, see Ulna. For other uses, see Cubit (disambiguation). Egyptian cubit rule of 0.52m …   Wikipedia

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