handbreadth

English

Etymology

hand +‎ breadth

Noun

handbreadth (plural handbreadths)

  1. A space equal to the breadth of the hand; a palm.
    • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Psalm 39.5,
      Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee:
    • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter 23,
      […] I saw the library casement open a handbreadth; I knew I might be watched thence; so I went apart into the orchard.
    • 1928, D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Garden City, NY: Nelson Doubleday, Chapter 14, p. 219,
      She followed him into the scullery, and combed her hair before the handbreadth of mirror by the back door.

Translations
A measurement - the width of a hand

Synonyms
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