Where does “palmspan” come from?

palmspan (English) comes from English Palm, from Middle English palme, from Old French palme, from Latin Palma, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₂meh₂, from Proto-Indo-European plh₂m-, from Proto-Indo-European pelh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European pel- — to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold.

palmspan (English): A measure of length equivalent to the breadth of...

Definitions

  1. A measure of length equivalent to the breadth of...

Ancestry of “palmspan”, step by step

palmspan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Palm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishPalmAlternative letter-case form of palm
2Middle Englishpalmepalm
3Old Frenchpalmepalm leaf; Alternative form of paume
4LatinPalmapalm of the hand, hand
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpl̥h₂meh₂palm, hand
6Proto-Indo-Europeanplh₂m-
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpelh₂-to approach
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpel-to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold

via English span

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspanThe space from the thumb to the end of the little...
2Middle EnglishspanAlternative form of spanne
3Old Englishspannspan
4Proto-Germanicspann
5Proto-Germanicspinnanąto spin
6Proto-Indo-European(s)pénh₁-ne-
7Proto-Indo-European(s)penh₁-to twist; to weave
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pel-