זרת

Hebrew

Root
ז־ר־ה‎ (z-r-h)

Etymology

Compare Classical Syriac ܙܪܬܐ‎‎ (zartå, “span; hand”). In the sense of "span", attested in the Tanakh; in the sense "pinky, little finger", attested since the Mishnaic Hebrew period.[1]

Noun

the names of the five fingers in Hebrew

זֶרֶת • (zéret) f

a pinky
a span (unit of measurement)
- Exodus 28:16, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
  ‏רָבוּעַ יִהְיֶה כָּפוּל זֶרֶת אָרְכּוֹ וְזֶרֶת רָחְבּוֹ‎
  Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof.

References

Moshe Bar-Asher (2006), “Mishnaic Hebrew: An Introductory Survey”, in Steven T. Katz, editor, The Cambridge History of Judaism, volume four, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 375

[1] Moshe Bar-Asher (2006), “Mishnaic Hebrew: An Introductory Survey”, in Steven T. Katz, editor, The Cambridge History of Judaism, volume four, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 375