Convert Fingerbreadth (fingerbreadth) to Span (Cloth) (span) instantly.
About these units
Fingerbreadth (fingerbreadth)
The fingerbreadth, approximately 1.9–2 cm, is the width of an average adult finger and represents one of the smallest practical body-based units. It was historically used for fine measurement in weaving, tailoring, and small-scale construction, complementing units like cubits and handbreadths. Its human-scale precision made it intuitive, particularly in societies without standardized rulers or measuring rods. Fingerbreadths continue to be referenced in scholarly studies of ancient measurements, providing insight into the practical and anthropometric foundations of early systems.
Span (Cloth) (span)
The span is a unit traditionally used in textile measurement, equal to the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended, approximately 22.86 cm (9 inches). This anthropometric unit was widely used by weavers and cloth merchants to measure lengths of fabric quickly and intuitively. Its small scale made it convenient for practical applications where tape measures or rulers were unavailable. The span also appears in cultural and historical texts as a natural unit of human proportion. While largely obsolete today, it offers insight into pre-industrial textile practices and the anthropometric basis of early measurement systems.