Egyptian Finger (digit)

Ancient EgyptianHistorical unit (no longer in standard use)Approximate value

One 28th of a royal cubit, about 1.875 cm. The smallest standard division of Egyptian length.

1 Egyptian finger = 0.01875 meters (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the Egyptian finger varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the Egyptian finger

Egyptian length units seem to have begun as parts of the body, and the finger, or digit, is the smallest of them: the width of a finger. Modern writers also call it a fingerbreadth, and the Egyptian word is given as tebā. It was the basic subdivision of the royal cubit, which held 28 fingers, and four fingers made one palm. The figure used here, 1.875 cm, is simply the royal cubit of about 52.5 cm divided by 28.

Because the finger depends on the cubit, it carries the same uncertainty. Surviving cubit rods run from roughly 52.35 to 52.92 cm, which puts a finger anywhere between about 1.87 and 1.89 cm, and Wikipedia's article on Egyptian units quotes about 1.875 cm. The rods themselves were marked in fingers, which let craftsmen and builders read off small distances directly. In modern terms a finger is a little under two centimetres, or about three quarters of an inch.

Sources: Wikipedia: Ancient Egyptian units of measurement; Wikipedia: Cubit

Egyptian Finger conversion chart

1 Egyptian finger expressed in every other length unit:

More Ancient Egyptian units

• royal cubit (length)
• Egyptian palm (length)
• khet (length)

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