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fod [Danish]

In Denmark, a premetric unit of length, = ½ alen = 12 tommer = 144 linier.

Prior to 1683, several fods were in use:

sjællandsk fod, about 316.28 millimeters
lybsk fod, about 287.55 mm (Some say 288.07 mm)
skov-fod = 41/48 sjællandsk fod, about 270.16 mm

In 1683, as part of a general reform¹ supervised by Ole Rømer, the fod was made the same length as the Rhineland Fuss, about 314.02 mm.

In 1835, in order to harmonize Danish and Prussian units, the fod was shortened a bit to make it the same length as the Prussian Fuss, about 313.857 mm (1.0297 feet).

Denmark was one of the signatories to the Convention of the Meter. Comparing the national standard to the meter standards determined 1 fod = 313.8535 millimeters.

Other subdivisions

For a time there was a decimal fod = 10 tommer = 100 linier = 1000 skrupler = 10,000 qvinter = 313.85 millimeters.

The older subdivisions of the fod varied by region.

1 fod = 4 håndsbreder = 16 fingerbreder = 64 bygkorn.

In Dithmarschen, 1 fod = 16 finger = 256 stråbreder = 4096 hårbreder.

Post-metrication survivals

In the early 21^st century, long after metrication in 1912, the fod continued to be used in measurements of the length of boats.

1. Forordninger of 1 May 1683 or 10 January 1698