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Toise (toise) - Unit Information & Conversion

Symbol:toise
Plural:toise
Category:Length

What is a Toise?

Definition

The Toise is an historical French unit of length, used extensively before the adoption of the metric system. It was legally defined as 6 pieds du roi (French royal feet).

Based on the standard established for the pied du roi, the Toise equates to:

  • Exactly 1.94903631 meters (m) (based on the 1799 definition of the meter relative to the standard Toise bar)
  • Approximately 6.395 English feet (ft)
  • Approximately 76.73 English inches (in)

The Toise was further subdivided:

  • 1 Toise = 6 Pieds (French feet)
  • 1 Toise = 72 Pouces (French inches)
  • 1 Toise = 864 Lignes (French lines)

History

The Toise was a fundamental unit of length in France for centuries, used in various fields from the Middle Ages through the Ancien Régime and into the early post-revolutionary period. Its name derives from the Latin tensa, meaning "stretched (arms)", suggesting an origin related to fathom.

Standardization was crucial. The primary standard became the Toise du Châtelet, an iron bar embedded in the wall of the Grand Châtelet fortress in Paris. In 1668, this standard was physically copied by Jean Picard and used for geodetic surveys. Later, a copy known as the Toise du Pérou (or Toise de l'Académie) became the official reference standard for French length measurements. This specific bar was physically used in the famous French Geodesic Missions to Peru (1735–1744) and Lapland (1736–1737), which aimed to measure the length of a degree of latitude near the equator and the Arctic Circle, respectively.

These measurements, based on the Toise, were instrumental in determining the shape of the Earth and ultimately provided the basis for the definition of the meter. The meter was initially defined in the 1790s as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the Equator along the meridian passing through Paris, a distance calculated from the geodetic surveys performed using the Toise standard.

The Toise was officially replaced by the meter following the French Revolution and the establishment of the metric system in France, formally adopted in 1799.

Common Uses

The Toise is now obsolete but was historically essential for:

  • Land Surveying: Measuring land areas, property boundaries, and distances for cartography.
  • Architecture and Civil Engineering: Designing and constructing buildings, bridges, canals, roads, and fortifications (notably by Vauban). Dimensions of major historical French structures were often specified in Toise.
  • Military Engineering: Laying out fortifications, measuring artillery ranges.
  • Geodesy and Scientific Measurement: Serving as the standard unit for precise scientific measurements, particularly in astronomy and the crucial 18th-century geodetic surveys that measured the Earth.
  • Craftsmanship: Used in various trades requiring length measurements.

Unit FAQs

How long is a Toise?

The standard French Toise is defined as 6 pieds du roi (French royal feet). This corresponds to:

  • Exactly 1.94903631 meters
  • Approximately 6.395 English feet

How does the Toise compare to a Meter?

  • 1 Toise ≈ 1.949 meters
  • 1 Meter ≈ 0.513 Toise The Toise was the historical standard upon which the original definition of the meter was based through geodetic surveys.

What were the subdivisions of the Toise?

The Toise was divided based on the French foot (pied du roi):

  • 1 Toise = 6 Pieds
  • 1 Pied = 12 Pouces (inches)
  • 1 Pouce = 12 Lignes (lines) Therefore, 1 Toise = 72 pouces = 864 lignes.

Is the Toise an SI unit?

No, the Toise is not an SI unit. It is a traditional unit from the pre-metric French system (Mesures usuelles). The SI base unit for length is the meter (m).

Is the Toise still used today?

No, the Toise is obsolete and not used in modern measurements. It was legally replaced by the meter in France and elsewhere. Its significance today is purely historical, particularly in the context of historical architecture, engineering, surveying, and the scientific history leading to the metric system.

Toise Conversion Formulas

To Meter:

1 toise = 1.949 m
Example: 5 toise = 9.745 meters

To Kilometer:

1 toise = 0.001949 km
Example: 5 toise = 0.009745 kilometers

To Hectometer:

1 toise = 0.01949 hm
Example: 5 toise = 0.09745 hectometers

To Decimeter:

1 toise = 19.49 dm
Example: 5 toise = 97.45 decimeters

To Centimeter:

1 toise = 194.9 cm
Example: 5 toise = 974.5 centimeters

To Millimeter:

1 toise = 1949 mm
Example: 5 toise = 9745 millimeters

To Inch:

1 toise = 76.732283 in
Example: 5 toise = 383.661417 inches

To Foot:

1 toise = 6.394357 ft
Example: 5 toise = 31.971785 feet

To Yard:

1 toise = 2.131452 yd
Example: 5 toise = 10.657262 yards

To Mile:

1 toise = 0.001211 mi
Example: 5 toise = 0.006055 miles

To Nautical Mile:

1 toise = 0.001052 NM
Example: 5 toise = 0.005262 nautical miles

To Micrometer:

1 toise = 1949000 μm
Example: 5 toise = 9745000 micrometers

To Nanometer:

1 toise = 1949000000 nm
Example: 5 toise = 9745000000 nanometers

To Light Year:

1 toise = 2.0600e-16 ly
Example: 5 toise = 1.0300e-15 light years

To Astronomical Unit:

1 toise = 1.3028e-11 AU
Example: 5 toise = 6.5140e-11 astronomical units

To Parsec:

1 toise = 6.3162e-17 pc
Example: 5 toise = 3.1581e-16 parsecs

To Angstrom:

1 toise = 19490000000 Å
Example: 5 toise = 97450000000 angstroms

To Point (Typography):

1 toise = 5524.720929 pt
Example: 5 toise = 27623.604647 points

To Mil/Thou:

1 toise = 76732.283465 mil
Example: 5 toise = 383661.417323 mils

To Fathom:

1 toise = 1.065726 fath
Example: 5 toise = 5.328631 fathoms

To Furlong:

1 toise = 0.009688 fur
Example: 5 toise = 0.048442 furlongs

To Link (Gunter's):

1 toise = 9.68842 li
Example: 5 toise = 48.442098 links

To Pace:

1 toise = 2.557743 pace
Example: 5 toise = 12.788714 paces

To Span:

1 toise = 8.525809 span
Example: 5 toise = 42.629046 spans

To Digit:

1 toise = 102.309711 digit
Example: 5 toise = 511.548556 digits

To Cable Length:

1 toise = 0.010524 cb
Example: 5 toise = 0.052619 cable lengths

To Ell:

1 toise = 1.705162 ell
Example: 5 toise = 8.525809 ells

To Finger:

1 toise = 17.051619 finger
Example: 5 toise = 85.258093 fingers

To Roman Mile:

1 toise = 0.001317 m.p.
Example: 5 toise = 0.006584 Roman miles

To Stadion:

1 toise = 0.010535 stadion
Example: 5 toise = 0.052676 stadia

To Chi (Chinese):

1 toise = 5.847585 chi
Example: 5 toise = 29.237924 chi

To Shaku (Japanese):

1 toise = 6.432343 shaku
Example: 5 toise = 32.161716 shaku

To Li (Chinese):

1 toise = 0.003898 li
Example: 5 toise = 0.01949 li

To Bolt:

1 toise = 0.063944 bolt
Example: 5 toise = 0.319718 bolts

To Rope:

1 toise = 0.319718 rope
Example: 5 toise = 1.598589 ropes

To Smoot:

1 toise = 1.145258 smoot
Example: 5 toise = 5.72629 smoots

To Sajene:

1 toise = 0.91348 sajene
Example: 5 toise = 4.567398 sajenes

To Ken:

1 toise = 1.072057 ken
Example: 5 toise = 5.360286 ken

To Wa:

1 toise = 0.9745 wa
Example: 5 toise = 4.8725 wa

To Vara:

1 toise = 2.325221 vara
Example: 5 toise = 11.626104 varas

To Aln:

1 toise = 3.281145 aln
Example: 5 toise = 16.405724 alnar

To Cubit (Royal/Egyptian):

1 toise = 3.726577 cubit
Example: 5 toise = 18.632887 cubits

To Versta:

1 toise = 0.001827 versta
Example: 5 toise = 0.009135 versts

To Arpent:

1 toise = 0.033333 arpent
Example: 5 toise = 0.166664 arpents

To Ri (Japanese):

1 toise = 0.000496 ri
Example: 5 toise = 0.002482 ri

To Klafter:

1 toise = 1.027683 klafter
Example: 5 toise = 5.138413 klafter

To Yojana:

1 toise = 0.000144 yojana
Example: 5 toise = 0.000722 yojanas

To Skein:

1 toise = 0.017762 skein
Example: 5 toise = 0.088811 skeins

Convert Toise

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Toise Quick Info

toise
Symbol:toise
Category:Length
System:Various
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