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# cubit

noun (cubits; old use)

«cubit» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition and Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(old use) A cubit is an old unit of length, the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, about 45 cm. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cubit/#m1)

### In the lessons

in old tales a cubit measures a fish, a horn or a heap of grain

### Examples

- The fish was only a cubit long. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cubit/#x1)
- The horn is about a cubit long. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cubit/#x2)
- They have cleared only one cubit of the granary. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cubit/#x3)

### Note

a cubit is a length, not a count of things; to change cubits to centimetres, multiply by about 45.

## In Jewish tradition

The cubit (ammah) is the Torah's measure for Noah's ark, the Tabernacle, the court and the altar.

**Interpretation.** Tradition debates the exact length of the cubit and uses it to work out many laws on building and distance, such as how far one may walk on Shabbat.

### Examples

- And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. (Torah EXO.38.13, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/#x1)
- Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. (Torah GEN.7.20, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/#x2)
- And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. (Torah EXO.27.13, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/#x3)
- And the house, that is, the temple before the Sanctuary, was forty cubits long. (Prophets 1KI.6.17, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/#x4)
- And in the Sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive-wood, each ten cubits high. (Prophets 1KI.6.23, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/#x5)
- And there were arches round about, five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. (Prophets EZK.40.30, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/#x6)

### Note

a cubit is a length, not a count of things; to change cubits to centimetres, multiply by about 45.

## Early Modern English

### Meaning

An old unit of length, the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cubit/#m1)

### Then and now

No longer used; today we measure in metres and centimetres. Sentences give lengths in cubits.

### Examples

- Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (Torah EXO.36.21, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cubit/#x1)
- Other fishes there were only a cubit long which had heads like owls. (The Arabian Nights Entertainments) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cubit/#x2)
- Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (Torah EXO.26.16, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cubit/#x3)

### Note

Today: half a metre (about 45 cm).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cubit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cubit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cubit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cubit.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «cubit» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/C/cubit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cubit» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/cubit.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «cubit» in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cubit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cubit» in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/emode/w/cubit.html) on Mova free.