Definition:Historic Measures/Length/Leuca
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Definition
The leuca is a unit of length.
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | leuca | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 1500\) | paces | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 7500\) | feet | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 90 \, 000\) | inches |
Also known as
A leuca can also be found rendered as leuva and leuga.
Also see
Historical Note
The leuca was defined as $1500$ paces, which itself was a double step, and is something like about $5$ feet.
Thus a leuca was about one (statute) mile and a half.
Compare this with the Roman mille passuum, which is literally $1000$ paces.
The word is similar to league, which in its modern definition is $3$ (statute) miles.
Sources
- Mar. 1992: John Hadley/2 and David Singmaster: Problems to Sharpen the Young (Math. Gazette Vol. 76, no. 475: pp. 102 – 126) www.jstor.org/stable/3620384