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List of obsolete units of measurement

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This is a list of obsolete units of measurement, organized by type. These units of measurement are typically no longer used, though some may be in limited use in various regions.

Area

An overview of farm-derived units of measurement. Several of these are obsolete: the oxgang, the virgate, and the carucate.

Energy, etc.

Length

Human scale (≤1.7 m)

Unit Size Origin Notes
Ald 160–180 cm (63–71 in) Mongolian Mongolian equivalent of the fathom.
Alen, aln 59.38–62.77 cm (23.38–24.71 in) Danish, Norwegian, Swedish Scandinavian equivalent of the ell.
Aṅgula 1.763 cm (0.694 in) Ancient Indian
Arshin 68–75.774 cm (26.772–29.832 in) Ottoman, Russian/Slavic Related to the Turkish Arş.
Barleycorn 0.847 cm (0.333 in) English One-third of an inch.
Cana 157 cm (62 in) Aragonese, Catalan It is around the same value as the vara of Aragon, Spain, and Portugal.[3]
Cubit[4] 44.4–82.9 cm (17.5–32.6 in) Anthropometric Equivalent of the ell in the ancient world.
Macedonian cubit 35.6 cm (14.0 in) Ancient Macedonian
Ell 40.3–137.2 cm (15.9–54.0 in) Germanic Varies between the smallest German elle on the low end and the French aune at the longest.
Girah 5.72 cm (2.25 in) Indian
Gunter's link 20.1167652–20.1168402 cm (7.9199863–7.9200158 in) English Technically used until recently in US surveying.
Guz 61–104 cm (24–41 in) Mughal, South Asian
Hat'h 30.5–52 cm (12.0–20.5 in) South Asian
Jow, jacob 0.63 cm (0.25 in) South Asian
Ligne 0.0635–0.2256 cm (0.0250–0.0888 in) French Roughly equal to 9 points.
Line 0.064–0.254 cm (0.025–0.100 in) English Borrowed into other European systems as ​1⁄12 inch (0.212-0.229 cm), except for the Russian liniya which used the largest definition (​1⁄10 inch).
Lokot 45.7–54.7 cm (18.0–21.5 in) Russian Russian equivalent of the ell.
Pace 71–148 cm (28–58 in) Anthropometric
Palm 6.7–29.34 cm (2.64–11.55 in) Anthropometric Mostly remained between 6.7-8.8 cm until medieval European usage, during which it was more akin to a span.
Pes 29.5–30.1 cm (11.6–11.9 in) Roman
Pous 29.6–32.4 cm (11.7–12.8 in) Ancient Greek
Pyramid inch 2.094–2.543 cm (0.824–1.001 in) Pseudo-Egyptian, English Discredited speculative unit of length, believed to be equal to ​1⁄25 of the sacred cubit or 1​1⁄1000 British inches.
Step 74–81 cm (29–32 in) Roman
Unglie 1.9 cm (0.75 in) South Asian
Vara 83.59–86.6 cm (32.91–34.09 in) Spanish

Greater than human scale (>1.7 m)

Unit Size Origin Notes
Arabic mile 1.667–2.285 km (1.036–1.420 mi) Ancient Arabic
Bamboo 3.91–12.8 m (12.8–42.0 ft)[citation needed] South Asian Related to the dáin.
Dáin 3.9 km (2.4 mi) South Asian, Burmese? Also known as the Burmese league, possibly synonymous with the yojana.
Lachter 1.75–2.38 m (5 ft 9 in–7 ft 10 in) German mining industry Usually used to measure depth, tunnel driving and the size of mining fields; also used for contract work. In mining in the German-speaking countries, it was the primary unit of length.
Parasang 3.9–6 m (13–20 ft) Persian
Rod 1.838–7.62 m (6 ft 0.4 in–25 ft 0 in) European Standardized as 5.0292 m (16.500 ft) by the British empire.
Siriometer 149,597,870,700,000 km (9.29558073×1013 mi) Astronomical Defined as 1 million AUs, or roughly twice the distance from Earth to Sirius.
Spat 1,000,000,000 km (620,000,000 mi) Astronomical
Stadion, stade 157–209 m (515–686 ft) Ancient Greek
Verst 1.067–1.49 km (0.663–0.926 mi) Russian
Yojana 3.5–20.5 km (2.2–12.7 mi) Vedic Its value was about 10 km (6.2 mi), although the exact value is disputed among scholars (commonly between 8 and 13 km or 5 and 8 mi).

Luminosity

A Hefner lamp (German: Hefnerkerze)

Mass or weight

  • Abucco – in Bago, Myanmar, this was a unit of mass used for gold and silver. It was approximately 196.44 grams or 6.316 troy ounces.[5]
  • Arroba – an Iberian unit of weight, equivalent to 11.5 kg (25 lb)[6]
  • Buddam
  • Candy
  • Corgee – an obsolete unit of mass equal to 212 moodahs, or rush mat bundles of rice. The unit was used in the Canara (now Kanara) region of Karnataka in India.
  • Cullingey
  • Dharni
  • Dirham
  • Duella
  • Dutch cask – a British unit of mass, used for butter and cheese. Equal to 112 lb (51 kg).
  • Esterling
  • Faggot – has multiple meanings in metrology. As relevant to this article, it was a unit of mass, being 120 lb (54 kg).
  • Grzywna
  • Keel – a UK unit of mass for coal, equaling 21,540.19446656 kg (47,488.0000000 lb)[7]: 48 
  • Large sack – a unit of mass equal to 2 (new) sacks
  • Long ton
  • Lot
  • Mark
  • Munjandie
  • Oka
  • Pao
  • Passeree – a unit of mass equal to about 4.6 kg (10.1412640605 lb)
  • Pennyweight
  • Pood
  • Roll – a U.K. unit of mass for butter and cheese[7]: 46  equal to 24 oz (680 g)[7]: 52 
  • Room – a U.K. unit of mass of coal equivalent to 15,680 lb (7,110 kg)[7]: 52 
  • Sarpler
  • Ship load
  • Slug
  • Talent – a unit of mass in the tens of kg
  • Tank
  • Tod
  • Truss – a unit of mass used to describe tight bundle of hay or straw. It would usually be cuboid, for storage or shipping, and would either be harvested into such bundles or cut from a large rick.
  • Whey – a unit of mass used for butter and cheese
  • Zentner
  • Zolotnik

Temperature

Volume (dry or liquid)

Glass milk bottles from 1950s Quebec. From largest to smallest, they are a pinte (quart), a chopine (pint), and a demiard (half-pint).[11] The latter was used for cream.
  • Acetabulum
  • Adowlie
  • Amphora
  • Aum
  • Belshazzar
  • Botella − Spanish for "bottle", which has been given various standard capacities at different times and places, and for different fluids.[12] Often-cited figures include 0.95 liters in Cuba (1796), 0.75 liters in Cuba (1862) and 0.7 liters in Colombia (1957).[13]
  • Bucket
  • Butt
  • Chungah
  • Congius
  • Coomb
  • Cord-foot – a U.S. unit of volume for stacked firewood with the symbol cd-ft equal to 16 cu ft (0.45 m3)[7]: 52 
  • Cotyla
  • Cran
  • Cullishigay
  • Deal – a former U.K. and U.S. unit of volume for stacked firewood.[7] A U.K. deal equaled 7 ft × 6 ft × ​2 1⁄2 in (178 mm × 1,829 mm × 64 mm; 20.8 l), while a U.S. deal equaled 12 ft × 11 in × ​1 1⁄2 in (3,658 mm × 279 mm × 38 mm; 38.8 l).[7]
  • Demiard – an old French unit of volume. When France metricated, it survived in Louisiana and Quebec. The demiard eventually became associated with the American and British half-pint rather than French units.[7]
  • Firlot
  • Hekat
  • Hogshead
  • Homer
  • House cord – a former U.S. unit of volume for stacked firewood[7]
  • Kile
  • Koku
  • Lambda – an uncommon metric unit of volume discontinued with the introduction of the SI
  • London quarter
  • Lump of butter – used in the U.S. up to and possibly after of the American Revolution. It equaled "one well rounded tablespoon".[14]
  • Masu
  • Metretes
  • Octave
  • Omer
  • Pau
  • Peck – the name of two different units of volume, one imperial and one U.S. Both equaled about 9 litres.
  • Puddee
  • Salt spoon – used in the U.S., up to and possibly after of the American Revolution. Four salt spoons equaled one teaspoon.[14]
  • Seah
  • Ser
  • Shipping ton – a unit of volume defined as 50 cu ft (1.4 m3)
  • Stuck
  • Wineglass – used in the U.S., up to and possibly after of the American Revolution. One wineglass equaled ​1⁄4 cup.[14]

Other

  • Apothecaries' system
  • Atom (time) – a hypothetical unit of time used in the Middle Ages
  • Bahar – a unit of length in Iran, and was a unit of mass in Oman
  • Batman – mostly a unit of mass, but sometimes a unit of area
  • Demal – unit of concentration
  • Dimi (metric prefix) – a discontinued non-SI metric prefix for 10−4[7]
  • Einstein – unit of energy, and a unit of amount of substance
  • Fanega – a unit of dry volume, and a unit of area
  • Fresnel – a unit of frequency
  • Garce – a unit of dry volume in India, and a unit of mass in Sri Lanka
  • Hobbit – a unit of volume, or, more rarely, of weight
  • Kula – a unit of area in India, and mass in Morocco
  • Last – a unit of mass or volume
  • League – usually a unit of length, but sometimes a unit of area
  • Mache
  • Mesures usuelles
  • Perch – most commonly a unit of area, but sometimes a unit of length or volume
  • Pièze – a unit of pressure
  • Quibi – a unit of time equal to 10 minutes. First used in Quibi's own Super Bowl LIII advertising campaign, this word saw small amounts of ironic adoption.
  • Rood – a unit of area or length
  • Sack – originally a medieval unit of mass, equal to 26 stone (364 pounds, or about 165 kg). Since a unit of dry volume, equal to 24 imperial gallons (about 109 liters).
  • Schoenus – a unit of area or length
  • Scrupulum – a unit of area, mass, or time
  • Seam – a unit of mass or volume
  • Seer – a unit of mass or volume
  • Toise – a unit of area, length, or volume
  • Tub – usually a unit of mass, but sometimes a unit of volume
  • Uncia – an ancient Roman unit of length, mass, or volume
  • Wey – a unit of mass or volume
  • Winchester measure – a system of volume measurement

See also

Main article: Outline of metrology and measurement

By geography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Herlihy, David (2009). Medieval Households. Harvard University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780674038608. https://books.google.com/books?id=zFplsa4-kcoC&pg=PA69. 
  2. ↑ Lessa or Lecha Unit Converter
  3. ↑ Gilbert, E.W.; Beckinsale, R.P. (1944). Spain & Portugal: Spain. Its Geographical handbook series. Naval Intelligence Division. https://books.google.com/books?id=he0bAAAAMAAJ. 
  4. ↑ Hoong, Tho Lai; Yi, Tho Mun (2008). Interactive Science For Inquiring Minds Volume A. Panpac Education Pte Ltd. p. 33. ISBN 978-9812716187. https://books.google.com/books?id=UXeUTVtsb9oC&pg=PA33. 
  5. ↑ Kisch, Bruno (1965). Scales and Weights. Original from the University of California: Yale University Press. p. 237. https://books.google.com/books?id=Odi4AAAAIAAJ&q=abucco+gold+silver. 
  6. ↑ William Parry, Louis Albert Fischer,State and National Laws Concerning the Weights and Measures of the United StatesUnited States National Bureau of Standards, 1912 p. 414
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 Cardarelli, François (2003). Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins. London: Springer. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4471-1122-1. https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofs0000card. 
  8. ↑ Published anonymously as "Scala graduum Caloris. Calorum Descriptiones & signa." in Philosophical Transactions. 1701. pp. 824–829. https://books.google.com/books?id=x8NeAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA824. 
  9. ↑ Nichols, Joannes, ed (1782). Isaaci Newtoni Opera quae exstant omnia. 4. pp. 403–407. https://books.google.com/books?id=Dz2FzJqaJMUC&pg=PA403. 
  10. ↑ Silverman, Mark P. (2002), A Universe of Atoms, Springer, p. 49, ISBN 9780387954370, https://books.google.com/books?id=-Er5pIsYe_AC&pg=PA49 
  11. ↑ Trudel, Marcel, Introduction to New France, p. 222 
  12. ↑ sizes.com lists figures for bottles in Bolivia from 460 ml to 1 liter.
  13. ↑ McCusker, John (2005). Essays in the Economic History of the Atlantic World. Routledge. pp. 63. ISBN 1134703406. https://books.google.com/books?id=a2-GAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Pelton, Robert W.; Pelton, W. Pelton (2004). Baking Recipes of Our Founding Fathers. Infinity Publishing. pp. 263–264. ISBN 0741419440. https://books.google.com/books?id=idKQOGe7r_sC&pg=PA263. 

Further reading

  • Encyclopaedia of Historical Metrology, Weights, and Measures; Jan Gyllenbok; Birkhäuser; 2018; 3 Volumes.
  • Historical Metrology: A New Analysis of the Archaeological and the Historical Evidence Relating to Weights and Measures; Algernon Berriman; Praeger; 1970; ISBN 978-0837124247.



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