Have You Heard of These Archaic Units of Measure?

Noah’s ark was measured in cubits.

The Anglo-Saxons measured with barleycorns.

Today we have the metric system as well as some words like inches, feet, and yards for measuring things.

The terms for units of measure have changed over the centuries. This makes sense since language is an ever-evolving beast. If it weren’t, we’d probably still be using “thee’s” and “thou’s” in our everyday speech or sound like something out of Beowolf. Instead, however, we have the English language that I’m using with you right now.

What follows is a list of some old units of measure. Some of the terms may seem familiar to you while others may sound like something out of a story like Beowolf. Either way, you may like to share this information with your children so that they can learn about some of these historical, mathematical terms.

Old Units of Measure

Liquid Measure
4 gills = 1 pint
1 hogshead = 63 gallons
1 butt = 2 hogshead or 126 gallons

Dry Measure
2 quarts = 1 bottle
2 bottles = 1 gallon
2 gallons = 1 peck
3 bushels = 1 sack
4 bushels = 1 coomb
9 bushels = 1 vat
2 coombs = 1 quarter
5 quarters = 1 wey
2 weys = 1 last

Length
3 barleycorns = 1 inch
2 1/2 inches = 1 nail
4 nails = 1 quarter
4 quarters = 1 yard
3 palms = 1 span
18 inches = 1 cubit
5 feet = 1 pace
5 1/2 yards = 1 pole
40 poles = 1 furlong
8 furlongs = 1 mile
3 miles = 1 league

Did you and your children learn something new from this list of old units of measure? I hope you did. And I hope you share this list with others who have an interest in these little tidbits of history.

Many blessings,