guz

{{Redirect|Guj|other uses|Guz (disambiguation)|and|Guj (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox unit

| standard =

| quantity = Length

| units2 = SI base units

| inunits2 = 0.9144 m

| units1 = Imperial units

| inunits1 = {{Convert|3|ft|in|abbr=off|lk=on}}

}}

A guz (also spelled gaz, from Hindustani {{wikt-lang|hi|गज़}}/{{wikt-lang|ur|گز}} and Persian {{wikt-lang|fa|گز}}), or Mughal yard, is a unit of length used in parts of Asia. Historically, it was a regionally variable measurement similar to the English yard both in size and in that it was often used for measuring textiles. Values of the guz ranged from {{convert|24|to|41|in|lk=in}} over time. Today, it is generally used in the Indian subcontinent as the word for a yard. A present day sari is still measured as 7 guz while a traditional one can be as long as 9 guz.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

History

Use of the guz in India was first established during the Mughal Empire. The guz in Rajasthan at the end of the 17th century was quoted as being {{convert|28+1/2|in}}.{{citation | contribution = Guz | title = A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles | volume = 4 | page = 525 | year = 1900| title-link = Oxford English Dictionary }} By 1875, the average value of the guz in Bengal was {{convert|36|in|yd mm}}, but was {{convert|33|in}} in Madras and {{convert|27|in}} in Bombay.{{citation | author = Bedford, Frederick George D. | authorlink = Frederick Bedford | year = 1875 | title = The sailor's pocket book: A Collection of Practical Rules, Notes and Tables | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BmABAAAAQAAJ | page = 323}}.

By the 20th century, the guz was uniformly quoted as being equal in length to one yard in the English system, or 0.91 metres in the metric system.{{Cite web|url=https://aceonlinetools.com/converters/area/square-guz-to-square-meter-sqgaj-to-sqm-converter/|title=Conversion of Square Guz to Square Meter|access-date=10 October 2022}} But there are some different values still in use, like Bikaner has 1 guz/gaz = 2 ft officially recognized and in use.{{Cite web|date=5 August 2021|title=Shri Jitender Kumar Kochar, ... vs Department Of Income Tax on 12 June, 2013|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/40179591/|access-date=5 August 2021|website=Indian Kanoon}}

The guz is still commonly used in the Indian subcontinent. It has become the standard word in Hindi and Urdu for "yard".{{Cite web|url=https://www.areaconvert.com/2019/10/gaj-to-feet-square-feet-square-gaj-to.html|title=Gaj to Feet / Square Feet {{!}} Square Gaj to Square meters|last=Admin|access-date=4 October 2019}}

Name

The word guz (also spelled guzz, at the time) entered the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century, having been originally submitted by the noted lexicographer William Chester Minor, originally as being equal to {{convert|28+4/5|in}} in India (so that "5 guzz = 4 yards").A Minor case: OED contributions from a prison cell http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/02/william-minor/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216111334/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/02/william-minor/ |date=2013-02-16 }} The word also is reputed to have given the Royal Navy base at HMNB Devonport, in Plymouth, the affectionate nickname of "Guzz", as sailors referring to the Dockyard, used to regularly abbreviate the word to simply "The Yard", leading to the slang use of the Hindi word for the unit of measurement of the same name.The Plymouth Command - Origin of the Nickname GUZZ http://www.godfreydykes.info/THE_PLYMOUTH_COMMAND.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120104416/http://www.godfreydykes.info/THE_PLYMOUTH_COMMAND.htm |date=2015-01-20 }}

Regional definitions

=Arabia=

In Arabia, it varied between {{convert|27|and|37|in}}.{{citation | title = Guz | url = http://www.sizes.com/units/guz.htm | work = Sizes, grades, units, scales, calendars, chronologies] | publisher = Sizes, Inc. | year = 2008 | accessdate = 20 January 2007}}

=Persia=

In Persia, it was reported in the 1880s that 1 guz was {{convert|37+1/2|in}} for cloth, but {{convert|27|in}} for silk and carpet.

=Nepal=

In Nepal, 1 guz was {{convert|1|yd}} in the 20th century.

=Southeast Asia=

1 Malay gaz is around {{convert|33|in|ft|abbr=off|lk=off}} or 83.82 centimetres.{{cite encyclopedia|title=gaz|url=http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Cari1?keyword=gaz|dictionary=Kamus Dewan|publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia|date=2017|edition=4th}}

guz