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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

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

Energy, etc.

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Length

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Human scale (≤1.7 m)

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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 high end.
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 and 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 11⁄1000 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)

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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

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A Hefner lamp (German: Hefnerkerze)

Mass or weight

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Temperature

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Volume (dry or liquid)

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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.

Other

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  • Apothecaries' system
  • Atom (time) – a hypothetical unit of time used in the Middle Ages
  • Bahar – a unit of length in Iran and 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 a unit of 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). It has since been 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

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By geography

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References

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  1. 1 2 Herlihy, David (2009). Medieval Households. Harvard University Press. p. 69. ISBN 9780674038608.
  2. ↑ Lessa or Lecha Unit Converter
  3. ↑ Gilbert, E.W.; Beckinsale, R.P. (1944). Spain & Portugal: Spain. Its Geographical handbook series. Naval Intelligence Division.
  4. ↑ Hoong, Tho Lai; Yi, Tho Mun (2008). Interactive Science For Inquiring Minds Volume A. Panpac Education Pte Ltd. p. 33. ISBN 978-9812716187.
  5. ↑ Kisch, Bruno (1965). Scales and Weights. Original from the University of California: Yale University Press. p. 237.
  6. ↑ William Parry, Louis Albert Fischer, State and National Laws Concerning the Weights and Measures of the United States, United States National Bureau of Standards, 1912 p. 414
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 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.
  8. ↑ Published anonymously as "Scala graduum Caloris. Calorum Descriptiones & signa." in Philosophical Transactions. 1701. pp. 824–829.
  9. ↑ Nichols, Joannes, ed. (1782). Isaaci Newtoni Opera quae exstant omnia. Vol. 4. pp. 403–407.
  10. ↑ Silverman, Mark P. (2002), A Universe of Atoms, Springer, p. 49, ISBN 9780387954370
  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. p. 63. ISBN 1134703406.
  14. 1 2 3 Pelton, Robert W.; Pelton, W. Pelton (2004). Baking Recipes of Our Founding Fathers. Infinity Publishing. pp. 263–264. ISBN 0741419440.

Further reading

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  • 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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