Background:Feet and inches

Just the conversions

1 foot = 12 inches

Historical background

As the name implies I foot should be the length of a foot. Judging from the length a rather large one, about size 46 in Europe or 12 1/2 in the US.

The inch is called tum (thumb) in the Scandinavian languages and is thus derived from the size of the thumb, either from the width or from the length of the top part of the thumb.