Talk:Maltese units of measurement

Rounding Policy

This is my personal policy, because I can't find anything more official. I've taken the following conventions:

• Everything is rounded to 4 significant figures.
• The unit used is the largest commonly used unit (within that system of measures) that would result in a number that is greater or equal to one (1.000).
• Thousands are separated by a comma, but only if the value is greater or equal to ten thousand. Decimal fractions are not separated, either by spaces, commas, or any other punctuation. (but note the next item on precise conversion factors). This formatting convention eases copy and paste of such numbers.
• Precise values are listed either as a vulgar fraction (eg. 1/2) if a simple value can be written, or as a precise decimal value, noting the above convention for thousands and thousandths.
• All approximate conversion factors are preceded by a tilde (~) mark, or the word "approximately" . All precise conversion factors are preceded by an equals sign and space (= ), or the word "exactly". There should be no ambiguity regarding whether or not a value is precise or approximate.

For this document, I have used the modern definitions of the Anglo-American units, even though the legal Maltese definitions were defined relative to older values of the foot (and other such units). Considering these Maltese units were never used for scientific purposes or for extremely large values, that is accurate enough.

revised: Rhialto 00:28, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

Attestations

This is mostly a note for myself to indicate which sources include which data points.

1921 Act:

• Length: qasba, xiber, pulzier
• Area

• Area: modd, tomna, siegh, kejla
• square area: qasba kwadra, xiber kwadra

• Volume

• alcohol volume: barmil, garra, kwarta, kartocc, nofs, terz, pinta
• oil/milk volume: qafiz (kaffisi), kwarta, kartocc, nofs, terz, kejla, kwartin
• dry volume: modd (mdied), tomna (tmiem), siegh, kejla, lumin
• cubic volume: qasba kubu, xiber kubu, pulzier kubu

• mass: pezata, qantar (qnatar), wizna, ratal (irtal), uqija (ewieq), kwart, ottav

TY Maltese:

• Length: qasba, xiber, pulzier
• Area

• Area: modd, wejba, tomna, siegh, kejla
• square area: qasba kwadra

• Volume

• alcohol volume: -
• oil/milk volume: kwarta, kartocc, nofs, terz
• dry volume: -
• cubic volume: qasba kubu, xiber kubu

• mass: qantar, wizna, ratal, uqija

Aquilina:

• Length: qasba, xiber, fitel, pulzier
• Area

• Area: modd, wejba, tomna, siegh, kejla
• square area: qasba kwadra

• Volume

• alcohol volume: barmil, garra, kwarta, kartocc, nofs, terz
• oil/milk volume: kwarta, kartocc, nofs, terz
• dry volume: lumin, kejla/mondell, siegh, ghabara, tomna, modd/salma
• cubic volume: qasba kubu, xiber kubu

• mass: qantar, wizna, qsima, ratal, kwart, uqija

Notes on Current usage

These are notes on current usage of these terms for my personal experience. The fact that I have not heard a unit used does not mean it is not. I am essentially a Maltese urbanite :-), so the more arcane of these units might still be in use in village cores or by older people.

• pulzier : nowadays this is taken to be equivalent to a British inch. It is very much in common use.
• xiber : Only ever heard it used in idioms. the British foot is nowadays commonly called pied. (apparently there are different "pied", particularly the folding meter ruler used by builders is called "il-pied" even if it is actually 1 metric metre or 1 yard long)
• qasba : Still in common use in relation to construction and Real estate. (not sure how long it actually is in that context)

• tomna : also Still in common use in relation to construction and Real estate. (not sure how long it actually is in that context)

• pinta : is nowadays used to mean a British pint (although bars might serve you with half a litre when you ask for a "pinta lager":-)
• barmil : is used to mean a barrel; as in a barrel of oil. mostly used in news bulletins in reference to the price of oil.

• kejla : while rare this is still used to measure delicacies like capers and other "cottage industry" foodstuffs by some street vendors. What the actual size of the "kejla" is I do not know. the term is also used as a generic reference to the implement used to measure volume, so a 200ml cup measure might also be called "il-kejla".

• uqija : I remember vaguely this being used when I was a kid, but haven't heard it used (outside of the historical context) in many years
• kwart : when buying cheese at the deli counter "kwart" (lit. a quarter) means 200g . so if you want 250g you need to ask for "Kwart ta' kilo". still very much in use.
• ratal : still in use, mainly when buying vegetables, of groceries by weight , not sure how much it is, but I'm assuming around 800gr.
• wiżna : still in use, particularly when buying vegetables. the price of local potatoes when in season is still quotes by the wizna.
• qantar: also in use in relation to agricultural produce bought in bulk, like grapes for wine making.

• Money : many people still use the term xelin (pronounced shelin, lit. shilling) to mean 5 cents, and hames xelini (5 shillings) to mean 25 cents. It will be interesting to see how this usage will change with the introduction of the Euro.

--Inkiwna (talk) 17:43, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Tomna

The article correctly notes that the Maltese language name of this unit is tomna (pl. tomniet or tmiem). In English texts, I have indeed seen it written tomolo (pl. tomoli or tumoli). However, that is the English name for teh unit, and as such should appear in the commentary, not in the column intended for the native name.

Please don't ask for a cite to prove that tomolo/tomoli/tumoli is not used in Maltese texts. However, it is worth noting that if a word exists at all in Maltese, it is quite reasonable to suppose it would exist in Aquilina's 3000+ page dictionary. Asking for a cite is to prove the absence of the word in the Maltese language (as opposed to the English language, which I have acknowledge4d) is akin to asking for a cite to prove there is no teapot orbiting teh sun halfway between Earth and Mars. Rhialto (talk) 12:35, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

Actual cites for "tomna"...

http://justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8920&l=2 (page 23 as a unit of area, page 24 as a unit of mass) - tomna mentioned. No mention of tumolo or related t-m-l terms.

TY Maltese is an English-laguage text, so doesn't prove anything we don't already agree on. My copy of Aquilina is unfortunately at a relative's house at present, but I should eb able to verify that reference in about two weeks. Rhialto (talk) 12:49, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

Worth noting too that your cite is from a book published in 1825. It is improbable that the source has anything to say about usage in any language in the last century and a half. Rhialto (talk) 13:37, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

Maltese Canna and Palmo

While there is a source that refers to a "Maltese canne" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110006/http://www.melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Archivum%20Melitense/AM.07%281922-1928%29/AM.7%281922%291/01.pdf, footnote on page 6), that is an English-language publication referring to a Maltese unit in terms that an English speaker from the time of that publication (uncertain, but between 1920-1949) would have understood, likening to a similar-length unit in a nearby country to which there was a perceived connection. This is similar to an English-language publication talking about Chinese units of measurement discussing a "Chinese mile" rather than a "li". Just because a foreign-language publication refers to a unit in a given way, it doesn't follow that the people of that country actually use that foreign-language term.

I could not find any cite for a Maltese "palmo" (or palmi). In context, it would have been an alternate name for the fitel anyway, not the xiber. Rhialto (talk) 09:09, 13 July 2023 (UTC)