Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An ancient unit of linear measure, originally equal to the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, or about 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 centimeters).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In anatomy: The forearm or antebrachium; the arm from the elbow to the wrist.
  • noun The inner bone of the forearm; the ulna.
  • noun A linear unit derived from the length of the forearm.
  • noun In entomology, one of the veins, nerves, or ribs of an insect's wing; a cubital rib, succeeding the radius or sector. See phrases under cubitus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.), obsolete The forearm; the ulna, a bone of the arm extending from elbow to wrist.
  • noun A measure of length, being the distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A unit of linear measure, no longer in use, originally equal to the length of the forearm.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an ancient unit of length based on the length of the forearm

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English cubite, from Latin cubitum, cubit, elbow.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin cubitum ("elbow, cubit").

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