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Handbreadth for Dummies

noun

pronunciation: 'hænd,brɛdθ

What does Handbreadth really mean?

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Sure, I'd be happy to help you understand the meaning of the word "handbreadth"! Imagine you have a ruler in front of you, and you use your hand to measure something with it. A handbreadth is the distance or measurement between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your pinky finger when your hand is spread out wide. It's like using your hand as a little ruler to quickly estimate the size of something!

To give you a little more context, a handbreadth is usually about four inches or ten centimeters long. So, if you wanted to know how wide your book is, you could use your hand and say, "Hmm, it's about three handbreadths wide." It's a simple and kind of fun way to measure things without needing an actual ruler.

Now, let me tell you about another meaning of "handbreadth". In some cultures or historical measurements, it was also used to refer to the width of a human hand, but this time from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when they are held tightly together. So, imagine making a fist and measuring the distance from the side of your thumb to the side of your pinky finger. That's another way to think about handbreadth!

So, to recap, a handbreadth is a measurement you can estimate using the width of your hand. It's the distance between the tip of your thumb and the tip of your pinky finger when your hand is open wide or from the side of your thumb to the side of your pinky finger when your hand is in a fist. It's a handy (pun intended!) and simple way to measure things without needing a ruler. So, next time you want to measure something quickly and you don't have a ruler nearby, you can always rely on your trusty handbreadth!


Revised and Fact checked by Brian Anderson on 2023-10-29 08:20:44

Handbreadth In a sentece

Learn how to use Handbreadth inside a sentece

  • A handbreadth is the distance from the tip of your thumb to the tip of your pinky finger when you spread them apart as much as possible.
  • When you measure the length of a book, you can say that it is about ten handbreadths long.
  • Imagine you have a small drawing and you want to know how big it is. You can use a ruler to measure its height and find out that it is three handbreadths tall.
  • If you want to know the width of a table, you can measure it using your handbreadth. Let's say the table is six handbreadths wide.
  • Let's say you have a piece of fabric, and you need to know how much fabric you'll need to cover a chair. You can measure the chair's seat using your handbreadth to determine its size.

Handbreadth Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

Handbreadth Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.

Handbreadth Hyponyms

Words that are more specific than the original word.