palm
ancient Roman unit of measurement
Also known as: palmus
Quick Summary
The ancient Romans used the palm (palmus) as a unit of length, roughly equivalent to the breadth of a hand. This unit was approximately 74 mm or 2.91 inches, and it was defined as one-fourth of a Roman foot (pes). The Romans also used the term palmarius to describe something extraordinary, inspired by the palm leaf awarded to victors in sports competitions. While the modern "hand" used for measuring horses is standardized at 4 inches, ancient units of length were often based on body measurements.123
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