Plural of ell, an old unit of measurement equal to about 45 inches or the length of a forearm and hand.
From Old English eln, related to 'elbow' because the ell was originally based on the distance from elbow to fingertip. Used for centuries before the metric system.
Ells were so common in medieval trade that most merchants could recite prices in ells per yard—tailors especially needed to know this unit since they were measuring cloth constantly!
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