See rule of thumb in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
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"tommelfingerregel" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "nl", "lang": "Dutch", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "masculine" ], "word": "vuistregel" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "fi", "lang": "Finnish", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "nyrkkisääntö" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "fi", "lang": "Finnish", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "peukalosääntö" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "fr", "lang": "French", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "règle générale" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "fr", "lang": "French", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "au doigt mouillé" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "fr", "lang": "French", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "au pif" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "de", "lang": "German", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "Faustregel" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "de", "lang": "German", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "Daumenregel" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "el", "lang": "Greek", "roman": "praktikós kanónas", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "masculine" ], "word": "πρακτικός κανόνας" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "el", "lang": "Greek", "roman": "vasikós kanónas", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "masculine" ], "word": "βασικός κανόνας" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "hu", "lang": "Hungarian", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "ökölszabály" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "is", "lang": "Icelandic", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "þumalputtaregla" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "it", "lang": "Italian", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "a lume di naso" }, { 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"heurística" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "pt", "lang": "Portuguese", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "macete" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "pt", "lang": "Portuguese", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "word": "manha" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "ru", "lang": "Russian", "roman": "praktíčeskoje právilo", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "neuter" ], "word": "практи́ческое пра́вило" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "ru", "lang": "Russian", "roman": "empiríčeskij prijóm", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "masculine" ], "word": "эмпири́ческий приём" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "es", "lang": "Spanish", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "regla general" }, { "_dis1": "98 2", "code": "sv", "lang": "Swedish", "sense": "general guideline rather than a strict rule", "tags": [ "common-gender" ], "word": "tumregel" }, { 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Swedish translations", "parents": [], "source": "w+disamb" }, { "_dis": "37 63", "kind": "other", "name": "Terms with Turkish translations", "parents": [], "source": "w+disamb" } ], "examples": [ { "text": "I made a quick, rule-of-thumb estimate of the manhours required for the job.", "type": "example" } ], "glosses": [ "Approximated, guesstimated." ], "id": "en-rule_of_thumb-en-noun-gFe9gCjZ", "links": [ [ "hyphenated", "hyphenated" ], [ "Approximated", "approximate" ], [ "guesstimated", "guesstimate" ] ], "qualifier": "usually hyphenated", "raw_glosses": [ "(attributive, usually hyphenated) Approximated, guesstimated." ], "tags": [ "attributive" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "En-au-rule of thumb.ogg", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e6/En-au-rule_of_thumb.ogg/En-au-rule_of_thumb.ogg.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/En-au-rule_of_thumb.ogg" } ], "wikipedia": [ "rule of thumb" ], "word": "rule of thumb" }
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Of uncertain origin, but probably based on the use of the thumb as reference for various measurements. For instance, one theory notes that the inch originated as the distance between the base of the thumbnail and the first joint, another notes the practice of approximating the general direction of the wind by wetting the thumb then raising it in the air. 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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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