Ligne | |
---|---|
Unit system | French |
Unit of | length |
Conversions | |
1 ligne in ... | ... is equal to ... |
French units | 12
Truchet point 1/12 pouce |
metric ( SI) units | 2.2558 mm |
imperial/ US units | 0.08881 in |
The ligne (pronounced [liɲ] ), or line or Paris line, [1] is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. [2] [3] The loi du 19 frimaire an VIII (Law of 10 December 1799) states that one metre is equal to exactly 443.296 French lines. [4]
It is vestigially retained today by French and Swiss watchmakers to measure the size of watch casings, [5] [a] in button making and in ribbon manufacture.
There are 12 lignes to one French inch (pouce). The standardized conversion for a ligne is 2.2558291 mm (1 mm = 0.443296 ligne), [4] and it is abbreviated with the letter L or represented by the triple prime, ‴. [5] One ligne is the equivalent of 0.0888 international inch.
This is comparable in size to the British measurement called " line" (one-twelfth of an English inch), used prior to 1824. [6] (The French inch at that time was slightly larger than the English one, but the system of 12 inches to a foot and 12 lines to an inch was the same in both cases.)
Ligne is used in measuring the width of ribbons in men's hat bands, [7] at 11.26 per international inch. [8]
The button trade uses the term ligne (sometimes "line"), but with a substantially different definition: 1⁄40 inch (0.635 mm). [9] [10]
Ligne | |
---|---|
Unit system | French |
Unit of | length |
Conversions | |
1 ligne in ... | ... is equal to ... |
French units | 12
Truchet point 1/12 pouce |
metric ( SI) units | 2.2558 mm |
imperial/ US units | 0.08881 in |
The ligne (pronounced [liɲ] ), or line or Paris line, [1] is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. [2] [3] The loi du 19 frimaire an VIII (Law of 10 December 1799) states that one metre is equal to exactly 443.296 French lines. [4]
It is vestigially retained today by French and Swiss watchmakers to measure the size of watch casings, [5] [a] in button making and in ribbon manufacture.
There are 12 lignes to one French inch (pouce). The standardized conversion for a ligne is 2.2558291 mm (1 mm = 0.443296 ligne), [4] and it is abbreviated with the letter L or represented by the triple prime, ‴. [5] One ligne is the equivalent of 0.0888 international inch.
This is comparable in size to the British measurement called " line" (one-twelfth of an English inch), used prior to 1824. [6] (The French inch at that time was slightly larger than the English one, but the system of 12 inches to a foot and 12 lines to an inch was the same in both cases.)
Ligne is used in measuring the width of ribbons in men's hat bands, [7] at 11.26 per international inch. [8]
The button trade uses the term ligne (sometimes "line"), but with a substantially different definition: 1⁄40 inch (0.635 mm). [9] [10]