braccio

American  

[brah-choh, -chee-oh] / ˈbrɑ tʃoʊ, -tʃiˌoʊ /

noun

plural

braccia

1. an old Italian unit of length, usually about 26 or 27 inches (66 or 68 centimeters), but varying between 18 and 28 inches (46 and 71 centimeters).

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Etymology

Origin of braccio

First recorded in 1750–60; from Italian: literally, “an arm,” from Latin bracchium; see brace

Example Sentences

The Venetian braccio was longer than the Florentine, which would have made Galileo’s measurements much more nearly accurate.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

A few years later when he was in Rome, he sought out a shop which sold measuring sticks and acquired a Florentine braccio.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Cloux April 14, ’18 Tomorrow evening, Pietro Papini will play his lira da braccio for us, music I composed in Milan, when friend Atalante and I played and sang.

From Voices from the Past by Bartlett, Paul Alexander

The rain water must flow from the cupola into a gutter of marble, a third of a braccio wide, and must run off through outlets made of hard-stone below the gutter.

From Lives of the Most Eminent Painters Sculptors and Architects Vol. 02 (of 10), Berna to Michelozzo Michelozzi by De Vere, Gaston du C.

Dov’ � Italia, il tuo braccio? e a che ti servi Tu dell’ altrui? non � s’ io scorgo il vero, Di chi t’ offende il defensor men fero: Ambe nemici sono, ambo fur servi.

From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 by Disraeli, Isaac