Cubite

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old measure of length roughly equal to the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger
2. A traditional unit of length based on the span of a forearm, taken from the elbow to the fingertips
3. A historical measurement of length derived from the human arm, typically about eighteen inches or forty-five centimetres

Etymology: The unit takes its name from the Latin "cubitum," meaning "elbow" or "forearm." The Latin word is linked to "cubare," "to lie down," probably through the idea of the forearm lying bent at the elbow. The measure is the length from that joint to the tip of the middle finger, so the body itself served as the ruler. Ancient measurements often worked this way, with lengths tied to the human frame: the foot, the hand, the span. Because a forearm varies from person to person, the cubit was never a fixed standard. Different cultures defined it differently, and a royal or temple cubit could be longer than an ordinary one. The spelling "cubite" is a less common variant of "cubit," and both forms trace back to the same Latin source.