handbreadth

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Noun

handbreadth (plural handbreadths)

1. A space equal to the breadth of the hand; a palm.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Book of Psalms 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.

Synonyms

• qual Judaism tefach, tefah

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