The Foot Was Once Literally Someone's Foot
A foot is the lower part of the leg, and a unit of length. The measurement began as a body part.
A foot is the part of the leg below the ankle, and a unit of length equal to twelve inches. Early measurements were body parts, which made them portable but inconsistent — a foot varied across Europe from about 25 to 34 centimetres. It was fixed at exactly 0.3048 metres by international agreement in 1959, defined by reference to the metre rather than to any foot. The human foot has 26 bones, roughly a quarter of all the bones in the body in each pair.
- The lower leg. *A sore foot.*
- A unit of length. *Six feet tall.*
- The base. *The foot of the hill.*
- A metrical unit. *An iambic foot.*
- Old English — *fot*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | foot | A foot. |
| Plural | feet | Two feet. |
| Verb | foot | Foot the bill. |
| Compound | footstep | A footstep. |
| Old English | fot | A foot. |
- He hurt his left foot.Anatomy.
- The wall is eight feet high.Measure.
- Two feet hold 52 bones.Fact.
Measurements taken from the body
- Foot — fixed at 0.3048 metres in 1959
- Inch — from Latin *uncia*, a twelfth, often a thumb's width
- Cubit — elbow to fingertip
- Fathom — the span of outstretched arms
- Hand — still used for horses, fixed at four inches
Old English *fot*, of Germanic origin, related to Latin *pes* and Greek *pous*.
How was the foot standardised?
By international agreement in 1959, defining it as exactly 0.3048 metres. Before that it varied widely across Europe.
How many bones are in a foot?
Twenty-six, so a pair of feet contains fifty-two, roughly a quarter of all the bones in the human body.