Finger (unit)

Short description: Width of knuckle of middle finger, 7/8"

Some hand-based measurements, including the finger (5) A chart of Imperial and US customary units.

A finger (sometimes fingerbreadth or finger's breadth) is any of several units of measurement that are approximately the width of an adult human finger, including:

The digit, also known as digitus or digitus transversus (Latin), dactyl (Greek) or dactylus, or finger's breadth -- ​3⁄4 of an inch or ​1⁄16 of a foot.[1][2]

In medicine and related disciplines (anatomy, radiology, etc.) the fingerbreadth (literally the width of a finger) is an informal but widely used unit of measure.[3][4]

In the measurement of distilled spirits, a finger of whiskey refers to the amount of whiskey that would fill a glass to the level of one finger wrapped around the glass at the bottom.[5][6][7]

Another definition (from Noah Webster): "nearly an inch."[8][9]

Finger is also the name of a longer unit of length used in cloth measurement, specifically, one eighth of a yard or 4​1⁄2 inches.[8][10]

In English these units have mostly fallen out of use,[citation needed][by whom?] apart from the common use in distilled drinks and drinking games.

## See also

* Digit (unit) ('5' in diagram above)
* English units - System of units formerly used in England (before 1826)
* Imperial units - System of measurements (from 1826)

## References

1. ↑ Noah Webster; John Walker (1830). American dictionary of the English language. digit: Converse. p. 247. https://archive.org/details/americandictiona00webs_1. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
2. ↑ Ronald Edward Zupko (1985). A dictionary of weights and measures for the British Isles: the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. American Philosophical Society. pp. 109–10. ISBN 978-0-87169-168-2. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_0l_k-XMIiQIC. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
3. ↑ The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. Charles B. Slack. 1839. p. 363. https://archive.org/details/americanjournal09usgoog. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
4. ↑ David V. Skinner (28 April 1997). Cambridge textbook of accident and emergency medicine. Cambridge University Press. p. 1209. ISBN 978-0-521-43379-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=m0bNaDhkaukC&pg=PA1209. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
5. ↑ University chronicle. 1858. p. 187. https://books.google.com/books?id=IUHiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT187. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
6. ↑ Bret Harte (1899). "A Jack and Jill of the Sierras". McClure's magazine. S.S. McClure Co.. p. 230. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmlXbZ0w2wYC&pg=RA1-PA230. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
7. ↑ Harvard Student Agencies, Inc.; Harvard Student Agencies (15 January 2000). The official Harvard Student Agencies bartending course. Macmillan. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-312-25286-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=3gMsTnBUG9IC&pg=PA38. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Noah Webster (1896). Webster's collegiate dictionary. G. & C. Merriam. p. 332. https://books.google.com/books?id=4aEMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA332. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
9. ↑ William Markham (1739). A general introduction to trade and business: or, The young merchant's and tradesman's magazine .... A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch. p. 104. https://books.google.com/books?id=HYNZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA104. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
10. ↑ The Encyclopedia Americana. Encyclopedia Americana Corp.. 1920. p. 165. https://books.google.com/books?id=BagrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA165. Retrieved 14 January 2012.

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger (unit). Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Finger_(unit)&oldid=177075"