Lea (unit)

The lea or lay was a British unit of length.

The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as a measure "of varying quantity" and cites quotations from within various areas of the textile industry which define it as "80 yards" (1888 note on a 1399 text), "200 Threds reel'd on a Reel four yards about" (1696), "each lay containing 200 yards" (1704", "eighty threads" (1776), "forty threads" (1825), "300 yards" (1882) and "in worsted 80 yards; in cotton and silk 120 yards" (1885).[1]

Cardarelli has asserted that it had a fixed value of 360 feet.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Lea, n.4". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Cardarelli, François Cradarelli (2003). Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. London: Springer. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4471-1122-1.
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