זרת

Hebrew
Root
ז־ר־ה (z-r-h)

Etymology

Compare Classical Syriac ܙܪܬܐ (zartå, “span; hand”). In the sense of "span", attested in the Tanakh; in the sense "pinky, little finger", attested since the Mishnaic Hebrew period.[1]

Noun
the names of the five fingers in Hebrew

זֶרֶת • (zéret) f (plural indefinite זְרָתוֹת or זְרָתִים)

  1. a pinky
  2. a span (unit of measurement)
    • Tanach, Exodus 28:16, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
      רָבוּעַ יִהְיֶה כָּפוּל זֶרֶת אָרְכּוֹ וְזֶרֶת רָחְבּוֹ
      Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof.

References
  1. Moshe Bar-Asher (2006) “Mishnaic Hebrew: An Introductory Survey”, in Steven T. Katz, editor, The Cambridge History of Judaism, volume four, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 375
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