Thou (unit)

The thou (abbreviation th) or mil (mainly United States) is a unit of length in the Imperial System and the United States Customary Units. It is equal to 11,000 of an inch. This is not to be confused with the old form of "you".

Etymology

Thou comes from the Germanic languages, a shortening of thousandth.

Mil comes from the Romance languages, a shortening of mille.

History

The thou was introduced in 1844 by Joseph Whitworth as a substitute to traditional fractions such as 164 132 116 18 which cannot be defined simply in hundredths unlike 14 (0.25) or 12 (0.5). Traditional fractions continued to be used, as they were a substantial part of other units of length.

Length

International Thou Inch Millimetre
Thou 1 11,000 0.0254

Usage

The thou is used in engineering and manufacturing mostly.