The measures of the old Romanian system varied greatly not only between the three Romanian states (Wallachia, Moldavia), but sometimes also inside the same country. The origin of some of the measures are the Latin (such as iugăr unit), Slavic (such as vadră unit), Greek (such as dram unit) and Turkish (such as palmac unit) systems.
This system is no longer in wide use since the adoption of the metric system in 1864, however some rural communities still use a small subset of these units.
Length Palmă (palm) - 1/8 of a stânjen Stânjen - 2 m (approximately) Palmac - 3.48 cm (Moldavia) Poștă - 8–20 km (depending on the country) Pas mic (small step) - 4 palme (Wallachia) (palme is the plural noun for palmă) Pas mare (large step) - 6 palme (Wallachia; Moldavia) Lat de palmă (palm width) - 1/2 palmă Cot (cubit) - 664 mm (Moldavia); 637 mm (Wallachia) Funie (rope) - 20–120 m (depending on the place) Leghe (league) - 4.444 km; Deget (finger) – the width of a finger Prăjină – 3 stânjeni (stânjeni is the plural noun for stânjen) Verstă – 1067 m (3,500 ft) Picior (foot) – 1/6 of a stânjen
Volume Note: the "quarts" in this table are imperial quarts, not US quarts. Similarly for gallons. Unit Value in MoldaviaValue in WallachiaValue in Transylvania Oca 1.5 litres; 1.32 quarts1.25 litres; 1.1 quarts1.26 litres Litră 0.25 litres; 0.22 quarts 0.25 litres; 0.22 quarts 0.25 litres; 0.22 quarts Baniță 21.5 litres; 18.3 quarts 33.96 litres; 29.9 quarts – Chiup 30–40 litres; 26–35 quarts Câblă unknown Merță 110–120 litres; 97–106 quarts – 22.5 litres; 20 quarts Ferdelă/Felderă 20 litres Obroc mare 66 litres; 58 quarts55 litres; 48 quarts – Obroc mic 33 litres; 29 quarts27.5 litres; 24 quarts – Giumătate 1200–1500 litres; 264-330 gallons Vadră 15 litres; 13 quarts12.88 litres; 11 quarts12.6 litresBalercă 450 litres 386.4 litres 378 litres Pintă – – 3.394 litres; 2.988 quarts Tină – – 15 litres; 13 quarts Sau 3.22–3.80 millilitres; 0.11–0.13 fluid ounces – –
Weight Unit Metric value Imperial value Dram 3.18 - 3.25 g 50.155 GrFont0.5kg 17.64 Oz
Area Unit Metric value Imperial value Feredelă 1.25 m2 11.61 ft2Stânjen pătrat 3.59665 m2 38.714 ft2Pogon 5,000 m2 46.45 ft2Falce 14.3 m2 132.85 ft2Prăjină 195 m2 1812 ft2Iugăr 5.700 m2 52954.73 ft2
See also Historical weights and measures SI Weights and measures
Notes Iugăr – the area ploughed in one day by two oxen – 7166 m2 (Transylvania in 1517); 5,700 m² (in other states) Stânjen pătrat – Embracing square
References
Nicolae, Stoicescu: Cum măsurau strămoşii, metrologia medievală pe teritoriul româniei, Editura Ştiinţifică, București, 1971.