Plural of feddan, a unit of land area used in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, equal to about 1.038 acres.
From Arabic faddān, a unit of measurement for agricultural land. The word entered English through colonial contact with Egypt and the Middle East during the 19th century.
The feddan is a perfect example of how measurements reflect local history—it's based on the amount of land an ox could plow in a day, showing how ancient agricultural societies literally measured the world by what their animals could accomplish.
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