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pied [French]

1

A premetric French unit of length, at least as early as the 16ᵗʰ century. Literally translated, “foot.” The most widely used pied, and the one used in Paris, was the pied du roi, 324.83938497 millimeters (12.789 inches) = 12 pouces = 1728 lignes. It is often called the pied of Paris. Legend has it that it is the length of Charlemagne’s foot.

Another unit, the pied géométrique, was the same length but was divided into 10 pouces and 100 lignes.

In the systém usuel (1812 – 1839), the pied usuel = ¹⁄₃ meter, about 333.33 millimeters.

In addition to the above, many local units were in use prior to metrication, among them:

Doursther, 1840.

2

In France, ? – 19ᵗʰ century, two units of volume for wood.

A unit for wood used in building, cabinetmaking, and so forth, the pied de solive = 1/6 solive, about 0.167 cubic meter. See solive.

A unit for fuel wood, a subdivision of the corde, varying by locale.

sources

Le pied, subdivision de la corde, n'était pas représenté par un cube mesurant un pied sur chacune de ses trois dimensions, mais par un parallélipipède rectangle ayant pour base un pied carré et pour hauteur la longueur de bûche. Ainsi la corde de Lorraine se subdivisait en 32 pieds, la corde de port en 40 pieds, la voie de Paris en 20 pieds, etc. Ces différentes mesures locales servent encore aux règlements de prix de façonnage entre les adjudicataires et les bûcherons, mais, le plus souvent, les transactions entre vendeur et acheteur se font au stère.

The pied, a subdivision of the corde, is not represented by a cube measuring 1 pied in each of its three dimensions, but by a rectangular parallelopiped having for its base a square pied and for its height the length of the log. Thus the corde of Lorraine is subdivided into 32 pieds, the corde de port into 40 pieds, the voie of Paris into 20 pieds, and so forth. These different local measures still serve in settling the price of dressing between those awarding contracts and the woodcutters, but, more often, transactions between sellers and buyers are made in stere.

H. Nanquette.
Cours de Technologie Forestière.
Paris: Berger-Levrault et Cie, 1887.
Page 161.

3

In Mauritius and the Seychelles, ? – 20ᵗʰ century, and in Haiti, 20ᵗʰ century, approximately 32.48 centimeters. This is the pied de roi, not the American or imperial foot (= 30.48 centimeters).

4

In Quebec, Canada, the length of the pied was set at exactly 12.789 inches by Act of Parliament July 7, 1919 (9-10 George V, chapter 75, 1919). Again, the pied de roi.

5

In Switzerland, 19ᵗʰ century, the pied, = 30 centimeters (about 11.81 inches), = 10 pouces = 100 lignes = 1000 traits. The previous pied was about 293.26 cm.

5

In Belgium, 32.49 centimeters (about 12.79 inches). Some older local values:

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Last revised: 19 March 2015.