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handbreadth

American  
[hand-bredth, -bretth] / ˈhændˌbrɛdθ, -ˌbrɛtθ /
Also hand'sbreadth

noun

  1. a unit of linear measure from 2½ to 4 inches (6.4 to 10 centimeters).


handbreadth British  
/ -ˌbrɛdθ, ˈhændˌbrɛtθ /

noun

  1. the width of a hand used as an indication of length

"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

Etymology

Origin of handbreadth

First recorded in 1525–35; hand + breadth

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Good God protect and bless you——I will find an opportunity to add a handbreadth of flounces to the bottom.

From The Awakening of Spring A Tragedy of Childhood by Wedekind, Frank

The room is so richly decorated that scarce a handbreadth of the surface is free from ornament.

From Southern Spain by Calvert, A. F. (Albert Frederick)

And when the perfect fruition is come, and we enter into the great spaces of Eternity, it will seem as an handbreadth.

From Expositions of Holy Scripture Isaiah and Jeremiah by Maclaren, Alexander

And it was an handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths.

From The Bible Story by Hall, Newton Marshall

There was not a handbreadth of shade anywhere, and the iron handles and girds of the barred windows were nearly red-hot.

From The Firebrand by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

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