(alua,) a measure which obtains, under different denominations, in most countries, whereby cloths, stuffs, linens, silks, &c. are usually measured; answering nearly to the yard of England, the canna of Italy, the vara of Spain, the palm of Sicily, &c.

Servius will have the ell to be the space contained between the two hands when stretched forth; but Suetonius makes it only the cubit.

The ells most frequently used with us are the English and Flemish; the former containing three feet nine inches, or one yard and a quarter; the latter only 27 inches, or three quarters of a yard; so that the ell English is to the Flemish ell as five to three. In Scotland, the ell contains 37\(\frac{1}{10}\) English inches.

M. Ricard, in his Treatise of Commerce, reduces the ells thus: 100 ells of Amsterdam are equal to 98\(\frac{1}{3}\) of Brabant, Antwerp, and Bruges; to 58\(\frac{1}{2}\) of England and France; to 120 of Hamburg, Frankfort, Leipzig, and Cologne; 125 of Brellaw; 110 of Bergen and Drontheim; and 117 of Stockholm.