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el

1

In the Netherlands, a unit of length for textiles, from 1820 to 1870, = 1 meter. Before metrication, the el had a number of local values. The amsterdam el was 687.81 millimeters.¹ In Aksel, 750 mm.² The brugse el, for raw cloth, 70 cm. The brabantse el was 694.38 mm.¹ In 1725 the latter length, under the name Haagse el (Hague el), was the official national el for everything measured in els.

J. M Verhoeff notes an interesting usage in Bredevoort, which had two els, a grote-el or breedoekse el, (= 0.69 m) and a kleine-el or smaldoekse el (= 0.59 m). But

met de laaste werd dubbel gemeten, dus: 1 el smaldoeks = 2 × 0.59 m = 1.18 m

with the latter being measured twice, thus: 1 el smaldoeks = 2 × 0.59 m = 1.18 m

J. M. Verhoeff.
De oude Nederlands maten en gewichten.
Amsterdam, P. J. Meertens-Instituut, 1982.
Page 14.

1. Nelkenbrecher, page 30.

2. Verhoeff, page 2.

2

In Indonesia and Surinam , a unit of length, approximately 0.69 meters (approximately 27.1 inches), derived from the haagse el of the Netherlands.

Where is Surinam?