length
part of speech
noun (length, lengths)
meaning for a pupil
1) Length is how long something is from one end to the other. tree →
2) Length is how long something lasts in time: the length of the film. tree →
3) A length is the distance from one end of a swimming pool to the other. tree →
4) A length of something is a piece of it: a length of rope. tree →
5) «At length» means for a long time, or at last. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Length is measured in cubits and spans for the tabernacle, its boards and the ark. The Writings also use it for time, as in "length of days", meaning a long life, and for the measures of Solomon's Temple. Interpretation: Tradition studies these exact measurements as a pattern for the sanctuary. It reads "length of days" as the reward of wisdom and Torah. In the primary lessons: In maths it is a measure of size in cm, m or km; one side of a rectangle, added, compared or multiplied by the width. Length × width gives the area; 2 × (length + width) gives the perimeter. In science we measure length with a ruler, a tape measure or a metre stick. In everyday life: the length of a film, a swim of ten lengths, «go to great lengths» (try very hard).
examples
- Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof. (Torah EXO.28.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (Torah EXO.36.21, JPS 1917) tree →
- Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (Torah EXO.26.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- Is wisdom with aged men, and understanding in length of days? — (Writings JOB.12.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- For length of days, and years of life, and peace, will they add to thee. (Writings PRO.3.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- The length by cubits after the ancient measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. (Writings 2CH.3.3, JPS 1917) tree →
- The length of the room is 6 m. tree →
- Find the length of the ribbon left. tree →
- The pool is 25 m in length. tree →
- Length × width gives the area. tree →
- Measure the length of your pencil with a ruler. tree →
- She swam ten lengths of the pool. tree →
- The length of the movie is two hours. tree →
- He cut a short length of string for the kite. tree →
- They went to great lengths to find the lost puppy. tree →
- At length his longing was satisfied. tree →
note
Note the spelling: «length» has a «g» and comes from «long» (like «strength» from «strong»). Countable. The verb is «lengthen» (make longer). Maths trap: the perimeter of a rectangle is 2 × (length + width), not length × width; check that all lengths are in the same unit before adding.
In the corpora
- Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.
- Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof.
- The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the breadth of each curtain; the eleven curtains had one measure.
- Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.
- Thus was it fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «length» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.