Spanna

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A traditional unit of measurement based on the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended ; a regionally or culturally specific term often used in historical contexts
2. Referring to an anthropometric length defined by spreading the hand and measuring from the thumb to the little finger's extremity ; utilized chiefly in certain cultures as a customary measuring unit
3. Denoting the span from thumb tip to little finger tip when the hand is outstretched ; historically serving as a customary or local measurement in some societies

Etymology: Spanna is a plain Old English word, not a borrowing or a coinage. It descends from Old English "spann" (a hand span, the distance between the outstretched thumb and little finger), which in turn comes from the same Germanic root that gives English "span" in its various senses, as in the span of a bridge or a life span. The pattern is a shared measurement idea: the same stretch of space gave rise to a unit of length and, eventually, to the word for a bridge or an arch's width. Since the word is recorded in English only from Old English times, its earliest uses were in ordinary measurement, so it is one of the oldest units of length the language still preserves. Its later spelling and meaning remained stable, and a "spanne" survives in Middle English as a measure of about nine inches, a figure that reflects the typical width of an adult hand.

Synonyms: wrench, spanner, adjustable wrench, crescent wrench, socket wrench