ellwand

9.9

A wooden rod about 45 inches long used long ago to measure cloth in markets

noun
/ˈɛl.wænd/

Archaic

: vara de codo

In medieval times, every town was required to keep an ellwand for trade.

Examples

Craftsmen ensured their cloth met regulations by measuring it with an ellwand.
An ellwand measures approximately 45 inches.
The ellwand was often displayed in market squares as a reference standard.
The ellwand was used to measure fabric in the 18th century.
Craftsmen ensured their cloth met regulations by measuring it with an ellwand.
In medieval times, every town was required to keep an ellwand for trade.
The ellwand was often displayed in market squares as a reference standard.

Synonyms

ell-wand

vsellwand

Archaic

9.9

A rod one ell long used to measure cloth

has identical meaning but is written without a hyphen here

measuring rod

vsellwand

3.4

A long rod with marks at regular spaces to show how long something is

is the specific historical official rod measuring about forty five inches

Surface Forms

ellwand singular

ellwands plural

Morphology

ellwand = ell + wand (semi-transparent) = ell + wand

The compound literally combines 'ell' (an archaic measure) and 'wand' (rod), so the structure is clear but the component 'ell' is archaic and may be unknown to learners.

Etymology

The word ellwand comes from ell, an old word for a measure about an 'arm-length', and wand, meaning 'rod'. So an ellwand was the rod used as the official standard to measure cloth in town markets.