Xylon

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A unit of length in Ancient Greece. historical

    "The xylon, in which naubia are measured. The royal (xylon) 9 comprises 3 cubits, 18 palms, 72 fingers; 10 the private (xylon) comprises 2⅔ cubits, 16 palms, 64 fingers, so that the surveyor's schoinion comprises 32 royal xyla, and 36 private (xyla)."

Example

More examples

"The xylon, in which naubia are measured. The royal (xylon) 9 comprises 3 cubits, 18 palms, 72 fingers; 10 the private (xylon) comprises 2⅔ cubits, 16 palms, 64 fingers, so that the surveyor's schoinion comprises 32 royal xyla, and 36 private (xyla)."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ξύλον (xúlon).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.