Cuerda

The term "cuerda" refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"[1]) refers to the unit of area measurement.[2] In Guatemala, cuerda is both a unit of length measurement as well as of area measurement.[1] As a unit of area measurement, the Guatemalan cuerda can have various meanings.[1][3] In Cuba, cuerda refers to a unit of volume measurement[1]; in Spain[lower-alpha 1] and Paraguay, it refers to a unit of distance (length).[2]

By unit type

Cuerda is a unit of area, volume, and distance (length), depending on the country of use.

Area: Puerto Rico and Guatemala

In Puerto Rico, a cuerda is a traditional unit of land area nearly equivalent to 3,930 square meters,[2][1] or 4,700 square yards, 0.971 acre, or 0.393 hectare (ha). The precise conversion is 1 cuerda = 3,930.395625 m2.[2] The term "Spanish acre" instead has been used sometimes by mainlanders.[1] A cuerda and an acre have often been treated as equal because they are nearly the same size.

According to Carlos Menocal Villagran,[3] in Guatemala, the term cuerda refers to a unit of area and can have various meanings. Cuerda can refer to areas that are 50 x 50, 40 x 40, 30 x 30, 25 x 25 or 20 x 20 varas (i.e. 2500, 1600, 900, 625, or 400 square varas). In addition, some sources describe a cuerda as 32 x 32 varas. In Guatemala, the linear vara is equivalent to 0.8421 meters.[lower-alpha 2] Thus,

  • One cuerda of 50 x 50 varas = 1,746.84 square meters
  • One cuerda of 40 x 40 varas = 1,117.98 square meters
  • One cuerda of 30 x 30 varas = 628.87 square meters
  • One cuerda of 25 x 25 varas = 436.71 square meters
  • One cuerda of 20 x 20 varas = 279.50 square meters

Volume: Cuba

In Cuba, a cuerda is a traditional unit of volume for firewood,[1] about 21% smaller than the U.S. cord. A cuerda of firewood is equivalent to 0.79 cord or 2.87 cubic meters (128 cubic pies).[1]

Distance: Guatemala, Spain and Paraguay

In Guatemala, a cuerda is a traditional unit of distance, equal to exactly 25 varas[1] or almost 21 meters (nearly 69 feet).

During 19th-century Spain, a cuerda was a unit of length, of nearly 6.889 m (approx. 7.554 yd).[2] However, in Valencia, Spain, the cuerda measured 40 varas, over 5.4 times longer, as nearly 37.21 m (approx. 40.7 yd).[2]

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gollark: If your children are less likely to do well, just have more of them to increase the probability of one being well off or something? Or so you can have lots of them support you a bit in old age.
gollark: However, resource consumption goes up.
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See also

References
  1. Archived at the WayBack Machine on 16 August 2013, from the original Units: C: cuerda. Russ Rowlett. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  2. Units - Cuerda. Sizes.com. Puerto Rico Act 135, section 4 (page 100), 1913–14, as amended by Act No. 3, 1913–14: A cuerda, quote: "a unit of land area, approximately 3,930 square meters (approximately 0.971 acres)...In land measurements and records, the measurement by cuerda customarily used in Porto [sic] Rico...equivalent to 3,930.395625 square meters..."
  3. Carlos Menocal Villagran. La Importancia para el Notario de Conocer el Sistema de Conversión de Medidas Agrarias al Sistema Métrico Décimal e Interpretatión Básica de Planos. Tesis. Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. San Carlos, Guatemala.

Notes
  1. In both Spain, it was a unit of distance until the 19th century; it is no longer in use.
  2. The length of a vara varies slightly among different Latin American countries.
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