Fyngerbrede

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A traditional unit of length equal to the width of a human finger, used as a rough measure of small distances
2. The breadth of a single finger, serving as an old informal unit for measuring short lengths or thicknesses
3. An archaic measure of length based on the width of one finger, roughly three-quarters of an inch

Etymology: Middle English "fyngerbrede" (also "fingerbreadth" in modern spelling) is a plain compound of "finger" and "brede," meaning breadth or width. Its earliest uses describe a unit of measurement: the width of a finger, roughly three-quarters of an inch, counted as one part of the older system of body-based units that also gave us the inch, the hand, and the span. The second element, "brede," is an Old English word for breadth, the same root that survives in "breadth" itself and in "broad." Both parts are native English, which makes this word one of the few measurements of this kind that never passed through Latin or French. Its use as a unit of measurement is recorded in Middle English, though the exact date of its first appearance is uncertain.

Synonyms: digit