Obsolete Russian units of measurement Peter the Great replace it with the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. The basic unit is the Russian cubit, called the "arshin", which has been in use since the 16th century. It was standardized by Peter the Great in the 18th century to measure exactly twenty-eight English inches (). Thus, 80 vershoks = 20 piads = 5 arshins = 140 English inches (). A "piad" (, “palm”, “five”) or "chetvert" (, “quarter”) is a hand span, the distance between ends of the spread thumb and index finger. Alternative units: As in many ancient systems of measurement the Russian distinguishes between dry and
Ancient Greek units of measurement measures of length were named after parts of the body, such as the ("daktylos", plural: "daktyloi") or finger (having the size of a thumb), and the ("pous", plural: "podes") or foot (having the size of a shoe). The values of the units varied according to location and epoch (e.g., in Aegina a "pous" was approximately , whereas in Athens (Attica) it was about ), but the relative proportions were generally the same. The ordinary units used for land measurement were: Greeks measured volume according to either dry or liquid capacity, suited respectively to measuring grain and wine. A common unit