Hand (unit) facts for kids

For other uses, see Hand (disambiguation).

Measurements called the hand (line 2) and the palm is (line 3), among others, on a human hand

The hand is a unit of measurement of length. It is now used only to measure the height of horses in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. This unit started in ancient Egypt and was originally based on the distance across a human hand. Today it is equal to four inches or 10.16 centimeters. It may be abbreviated to "h" or the plural "hh".

Images for kids

Detail of the cubit rod in the Museo Egizio of Turin, showing digit, palm, hand and fist lengths

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Hand (unit) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.