noun
handspan between thumb and middle finger
Archaic Buddhist term for a unit of length: the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger when the hand is fully extended. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical or religious contexts.
仏典では、搩手は長さの単位として使われていた。
In Buddhist scriptures, 搩手 was used as a unit of length.
Another archaic unit of length, roughly the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger. 搩手 uses the middle finger instead, making it a slightly larger span.
The term is of Chinese origin, used in Buddhist texts. The exact derivation is uncertain; it is a specialized historical measurement term.