cubit

[ kyoo-bit ]

/ ˈkyu bɪt /

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noun

an ancient linear unit based on the length of the forearm, from elbow to the tip of the middle finger, usually from 17 to 21 inches (43 to 53 centimeters).

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Origin of cubit

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, Old English, from Latin cubitum “elbow, cubit”; perhaps akin to cubāre “to lie down”

Words nearby cubit

cubic measure, cubiculum, cubic zirconia, cubiform, cubism, cubit, cubital, cubital furrow, cubital joint, cubital nerve, cubitus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cubit in a sentence

And before the chambers was a walk ten cubits broad, looking to the inner parts of a way of one cubit.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
I saw likewise other fish about a cubit in length, that had heads like owls.
The Arabian Nights|Unknown
Man cannot by thinking add a cubit to his stature, nor an inch to the circumference of his skull.
Education: How Old The New|James J. Walsh
Long before noon a lofty tower seemed to grow, cubit by cubit, out of the horizon.
Sarchedon|G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville

The lion is chained--the dragon cannot add one cubit to his stature--a point to his tongue--or a drop to his venom.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II|Francis Augustus Cox

British Dictionary definitions for cubit

cubit

/ (ˈkjuːbɪt) /

noun

an ancient measure of length based on the length of the forearm

Word Origin for cubit

C14: from Latin cubitum elbow, cubit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012