toise

[ toiz ]

/ tɔɪz /

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noun

an old French unit of length equivalent to 6.395 feet (1.949 meters).

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of toise

1590–1600; <Middle French <Vulgar Latin *tēsa, (feminine singular), Latin tēnsa (bracchia) outstretched (arms), neuter plural taken as feminine singular See tense¹

Words nearby toise

toilet training, toilet water, toilful, toilsome, toilworn, toise, toitoi, Tojo, tokamak, Tokara Islands, tokay

How to use toise in a sentence

Chaucer has treated a toise as if it were equal to two feet; it was really about six.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
In his own translation of the Romaunt, l. 1393, he translates toise by fadome.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
These towers are said to be about one toise higher than those of Notre-Dame.
The Churches of Paris|S. Sophia Beale
The toise used in this measure was afterwards regarded as the standard toise, and is always referred to as the Toise of Peru.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 9|Various

Subsequently, he investigated the expansion of a toise of iron from the variation in the period of his pendulum.
Smithsonian Institution - United States National Museum - Bulletin 240|Anonymous