fall (unit)

{{Short description|Scottish measurement of length}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

A fall or fa’ is a Scottish measurement of length. Other variants of the name include "faw", "faa" and "fa"; the spelling with an apologetic apostrophe is not favoured now. The measurement was mostly out of use by the 19th century, and English measurements were imposed in 1824 by an act of parliament.{{Cite web |title=Scottish Archive Network - Scottish Weights and Measures Guide (Distance and Area) |url=https://www.scan.org.uk/measures/distance.asp |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=www.scan.org.uk}}

There were 320 falls in a Scots mile.{{Cite web |title=Scotfax: Weights & Measures on Undiscovered Scotland |url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usscotfax/scotland/weights.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk}}

Equivalent to:

• Scottish measures: 18 ft, or 6 ells{{Cite web |title=Weights and measures {{!}} Scotland's People |url=https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/help-and-support/guides/weights-and-measures |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk}}
• Metric system: 5.6479 metres
• Imperial system: 6.1766 yards, 1.123 rods