Pronounced: BIH-nih-kuhl, noun
Notes: I thought this was something on a ship, but that wasn’t entirely correct
Yesterday’s word
As most probably know, a cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the length of the forearm to the tip of the middle finger.
Background / Comments
The word comes from a Latin source meaning “elbow”; however, the measurement itself may have originated in Egypt. The actual length varied from time to time and place to place, but is generally estimated at 18 inches. My personal cubit is 19 inches (possibly from carrying heavy engineering textbooks in school). The word is used in English translations of the Bible to represent the Hebrew word ammah and the Greek word péchus.
First usage
The word showed up in the mid-1300s (it was used in the Wycliffe Bible in 1382)
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 