cubit

noun (cubits; old use)

«cubit» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition and Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(old use) A cubit is an old unit of length, the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, about 45 cm. tree →

In the lessons

in old tales a cubit measures a fish, a horn or a heap of grain

Examples

The fish was only a cubit long. tree →
The horn is about a cubit long. tree →
They have cleared only one cubit of the granary. tree →

Note

a cubit is a length, not a count of things; to change cubits to centimetres, multiply by about 45.

In Jewish tradition

The cubit (ammah) is the Torah's measure for Noah's ark, the Tabernacle, the court and the altar.

Interpretation. Tradition debates the exact length of the cubit and uses it to work out many laws on building and distance, such as how far one may walk on Shabbat.

Examples

And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. (Torah EXO.38.13, JPS 1917) tree →
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. (Torah GEN.7.20, JPS 1917) tree →
And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. (Torah EXO.27.13, JPS 1917) tree →
And the house, that is, the temple before the Sanctuary, was forty cubits long. (Prophets 1KI.6.17, JPS 1917) tree →
And in the Sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high. (Prophets 1KI.6.23, JPS 1917) tree →
And there were arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. (Prophets EZK.40.30, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

a cubit is a length, not a count of things; to change cubits to centimetres, multiply by about 45.

Early Modern English

Meaning

An old unit of length, the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. tree →

Then and now

No longer used; today we measure in metres and centimetres. Sentences give lengths in cubits.

Examples

Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (Torah EXO.36.21, JPS 1917) tree →
Other fishes there were only a cubit long which had heads like owls. (The Arabian Nights Entertainments) tree →
Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (Torah EXO.26.16, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Today: half a metre (about 45 cm).

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «cubit» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«cubit» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «cubit» in the Judaism dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«cubit» in the Judaism dictionary on Mova free.
Trees and pragmatics of «cubit» in the Early Modern English dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«cubit» in the Early Modern English dictionary on Mova free.

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