length

B1 Topic:Mathematics & Measurement

US /leŋθ/ UK /leŋθ/ See IPA manual

Freq #5313

Meanings

1

noun
How long something is from one end to the other.

The length of the pool is 100 metres.
2

noun
The amount of time something lasts.

The film's length is just under two hours.
3

noun
A long piece of something.

He cut off a length of rope.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

lengthiness longitudelongness

Opposites

width

Word family

Forms lengthslengthwise

Derived forms after-lengtharclengtharmlengthbitlengthboatlengthboatslengthbook-lengthbrengthcalf-lengthchunklengthcodelengthdaylength

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Idioms (1)

See all

keep something at arm's length
To avoid becoming too close or too involved with someone or something.

Etymology

From Middle English lengthe, from Old English lengþ, lengþu, from Proto-West Germanic *langiþu, from Proto-Germanic *langiþō, equivalent to long + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Scots lenth, lainth (“length”), Saterland Frisian Loangte (“length”), West Frisian lingte, langte (“length”), Dutch lengte (“length”), German Low German Längde, Längd, Längte, Längt (“length”), Danish længde (“length”), Swedish längd (“length”), Icelandic lengd (“length”).

lengthe Middle English lengþ Old English *langiþu Proto-West Germanic *langiþō Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mathematics & Measurement

External links

# length

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /leŋθ/
**IPA (UK):** /leŋθ/
**Frequency rank:** 5313

## Meanings
1. How long something is from one end to the other.
2. The amount of time something lasts.
3. A long piece of something.

## Examples
- The length of the pool is 100 metres.
- The film's length is just under two hours.
- He cut off a length of rope.

## Synonyms
- lengthiness
- longitude
- longness

## Antonyms
- width

## Derived Forms
- after-length
- arclength
- armlength
- bitlength
- boatlength
- boatslength
- book-length
- brength
- calf-length
- chunklength
- codelength
- daylength

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lengthe
- Root: lengþ
- Root: *langiþu
- Root: *langiþō

## Etymology
From Middle English lengthe, from Old English lengþ, lengþu, from Proto-West Germanic *langiþu, from Proto-Germanic *langiþō, equivalent to long + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Scots lenth, lainth (“length”), Saterland Frisian Loangte (“length”), West Frisian lingte, langte (“length”), Dutch lengte (“length”), German Low German Längde, Längd, Längte, Längt (“length”), Danish længde (“length”), Swedish längd (“length”), Icelandic lengd (“length”).

## AI Etymology
Length comes from Middle English lengthe, from Old English lengþ, lengþu, from Proto-West Germanic *langiþu, from Proto-Germanic *langiþō, equivalent to long + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Scots lenth, lainth (“length”), Saterland Frisian Loangte (“length”), West Frisian lingte, langte (“length”), Dutch lengte (“length”), German Low German Längde, Längd, Längte, Längt (“length”), Danish længde (“length”), Swedish längd (“length”), Icelandic lengd (“length”). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix.

## Topics
- Mathematics & Measurement

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