|
Length/Distance | Convert from vara [South America] to twain |
Related Categories:
Common Length Conversions Metric Length Conversions Unit Definition (vara [South America]) Vara is an old Spanish and Portuguese unit of length. Varas are a surveying unit that appears in many deeds in the southern United States, and varas were also used in many parts of Latin America. It varied in size at various times and places; the Spanish unit was set at about 835.9 mm in 1801. At some time value of 33 in (838 mm) was adopted in California, and 33 1/3 inches (847 mm) in Texas. Unit Definition (twain) The twain is an old word for the number two, derived from the Anglo-Saxon twegen. The American author Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), who had been a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi in his youth, took his literary name from a traditional riverboat phrase "mark twain", meaning "exactly two" fathoms of water. This was the minimum depth needed for the boats to operate safely without running aground.
|
|