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jĕngkal [Malay]

See also jĕngkol.

In Malaysia, ? – 20ᵗʰ century, a unit of length, = 9 inches.

United Nations, 1966.

sources

1

jĕngkal. The span between the extremity of the thumb and that of the middle finger, when held apart as widely as possible, and used as a measure of distance.

Wilkinson, 1901, page 225.

Wilkinson describes several interesting modifications of the word, only the last of which is explicity described as a measure:

• jĕngkal tĕlunjok: the span between the extremities of the thumb and index finger.
• jĕngkal kĕlengkeng and j. jari manis: the span between the extremities of the thumb and of the little finger, and finger next to it, respectively.
• Sa-jĕngkal mĕnyisip ka-sa-bĕlah: the span between the tips of two adjoining fingers held as far apart as possible ; Sej. Mai. [Sejarah Melayn; Shellabear's edition (Arabic character), Singapore.], 18.
• jĕngkal kĕtoḳ : a measure of length ; the span between the tip of the thumb and the central joint of the finger when the finger is bent for rapping.

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Last revised: 25 July 2017.