stremma

English

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek στρέμμα (strémma, “a turning”), referring to the turning of the soil.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛmə

Noun

stremma (plural stremmas or stremmata)

1. A Greek unit of land area, now equal to a decare (1,000 m²) but (historical) previously 10,000 square Greek feet.
2. (obsolete) The dunam, the Turkish unit of land area derived from the Greek unit.

Usage notes

The standard was that the stremma was equal to a square formed by sides of 100 Greek feet, but in practice this was adjusted at a provincial or local level for differences in land quality to accommodate the term's colloquial sense of denoting the area able to be plowed in a day of work, a usage equivalent to the English acre.

Abbreviated in English as str.

Hyponyms

• royal stremma (modern value)
• square plethron (medieval value)
• See dunam (Turkish values)

Anagrams

• Stammer, stammer