English usage ; 1 span := 9
inches := 22.86
cm Chinese usage In China and Chinese cultured countries, a span (
一拃) refers to the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the outstretched index finger (sometimes middle finger), and typically measures .
Arabic usage In
Arabic, the analogue of the great span is the
šibr (شبر). It is used in
Modern Standard Arabic and
classical Arabic, as well as in modern-day dialects.
Slavic usage In
Slavic languages, the analogue of the span is various words derived from Proto-Slavic *
pędь (
Bulgarian педя,
Polish piędź,
Russian пядь,
Serbian педаљ, Slovenian ped, etc.). In various Slavic languages it is the distance from the tip of the
thumb to the tip of the
little finger or
index finger. For example, Slovenian
velika ped = great span (),
mala ped = little span (); Russian
piad = 4
vershoks = .
African usage In
Swahili, the equivalent of the great span (thumb to little finger) is the
shubiri or
shibiri while the little span (thumb to forefinger) is the
morita or
futuri.
Hungarian usage In
Hungarian, the span, or
arasz, is occasionally used as an informal measure and occurs in two varieties: measured between the tips of the extended
thumb and
index finger, it is
kis arasz (the "small arasz"); between the tips of the thumb and
little finger, it is
nagy arasz (the "large arasz"). The term "
arasz," used by itself without a modifier, is usually understood as referring to the "large
arasz," i.e., to the "span."
South Asian usage In
Hindi-
Urdu and other languages of Northern
India and
Pakistan, the span is commonly used as an informal measure and called
bālisht (Urdu: بالشت, Hindi: बालिश्त). In
Bengali, it is called
bighāt (বিঘত or বিঘৎ). In
Marathi, it is called
weet (वीत). In
Nepal, where this method of measurement is still used in informal context, a span is called
bhitta. In
Tamil, it is called
saaN.
Southeast Asian usage In
Southeast Asia, the span is used as an informal measure. In
Malay and
Indonesian, it is called
jengkal. In
Thai, it is called
khuep. In
Filipino, it is called
dangkal.
Mongolian usage The span is commonly used as a traditional and informal measure in Mongolia, where it is called
tuu (төө). Depending on the use of index or middle finger and the placement of the thumb, the span is named differently as
tuu (төө) and
mukhar tuu (мухар төө) etc.
Portuguese usage The old Portuguese customary unit analogue to the span was the
palmo de craveira or simply
palmo. 1
palmo de craveira = 8
polegadas (Portuguese
inches) = 1/5
varas (Portuguese
yards) = ==See also==