cubit

See also: qubit and cúbit

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cubitum (“elbow, cubit”). See also cubitus.

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkjuː.bɪt/
(US) enPR: kyo͞o'bĭt, IPA^(key): /ˈkju.bɪt/
Rhymes: -uːbɪt
Homophone: qubit

Noun

cubit (plural cubits)

(historical units of measure) Various former units of length notionally based on the distance from a grown man's elbow to his fingertips, standardized in different places and times at values between 35 and 60 cm.
(anatomy) The ulna.

Usage notes

In English, most commonly encountered in biblical Hebrew measures based on the shorter of the two Egyptian cubits, although the term is also used broadly for other units between the length of a foot and a yard. These may be clarified with a preceding adjective: Greek cubit, Roman cubit, &c.

Synonyms

(unit of length): ell (now properly a separate English unit); arshin, Russian cubit (Russian contexts); dira (modern Middle Eastern contexts)
(bone): See ulna

Hyponyms

royal cubit

Related terms

cubitus

Translations

unit of length

Arabic: ذِرَاع‎‎ m (ḏirāʿ)
Armenian: կանգուն (hy) (kangun)
Bulgarian: аршин (bg) m (aršin), лакът (bg) m (lakǎt)
Burmese: တောင် (my) (taung)
Catalan: colze (ca) m
Czech: loket (cs) m
Danish: alen c
Esperanto: ulno
Estonian: küünar
Finnish: kyynärä (fi)
French: coudée (fr) f
German: Elle (de) f
Greek: πήχης (el) m (píchis)
Ancient Greek: πῆχυς m (pêkhus)

Hebrew: אַמָּה‎‎ (he) f ('amá)
Hungarian: sing (hu)
Indonesian: dzira'
Latin: cubitum m, cubitus m
Malay: hasta
Maori: whatīanga
Portuguese: cúbito (pt) m, côvado (pt) m
Russian: ло́коть (ru) m (lókotʹ)
Spanish: codo (es) m
Swahili: dhiraa, mkono (sw)
Swedish: aln (sv) c
Tagalog: siko
Yiddish: אייל‎‎ f (eyl)

anatomy: ulna — see ulna

Malay

Alternative forms

چوبيت‎

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *-bit, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *-bit, from Proto-Austronesian *-bit.

Pronunciation

(Johor-Selangor) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃubet/
(Riau-Lingga) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃubɪt/
Rhymes: -ubet, -bet, -et

Verb

cubit (Jawi spelling چوبيت, used in the form mencubit)

to pinch (to squeeze a small amount of skin)

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