A unit of measurement approximately equal to the width of a human hand, historically used as a rough measurement standard.
From 'hands' (plural of hand) and 'breadth' (width), this Old English measurement reflected pre-standardized times when body parts served as measuring tools.
Before rulers and tape measures, handsbreadth was as official as measurements got—medieval builders and tailors standardized their handbreadths the way we use meters, making construction possible without modern tools.
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