A "ken" is not a widely recognized unit of measurement in modern systems. However, the term "ken" is more commonly used as a noun or verb in English and has a different meaning.
As a noun, "ken" refers to one's range of sight, perception, or understanding. For example, you might say, "Beyond my ken," to mean something is beyond your understanding or knowledge.
As a verb, "ken" means to understand, perceive, or know. For instance, you might use it in a sentence like, "I cannot ken the complexity of this issue."
In these contexts, "ken" is used to describe one's ability to perceive or comprehend something, rather than a unit of measurement. If you have a specific context in which "ken" is being used as a unit of measurement, please provide more details, and I'll do my best to assist you further.
A "barleycorn" is a small unit of length that was historically used for measuring small lengths or sizes of objects, particularly in some English-speaking countries. It is based on the length of an average grain of barley.
In the traditional English system of measurement, one barleycorn is equal to approximately 1/3 of an inch or about 0.8467 centimeters. This unit was used for measuring short lengths, such as the length of a person's foot for shoe sizing.
While the barleycorn is not commonly used in modern times for scientific or everyday measurements, it has historical significance, especially in the context of footwear sizing. Some traditional shoe sizing systems still reference barleycorns, where each size increase or decrease corresponds to the length of a barleycorn. However, most modern countries have adopted standardized shoe sizing systems based on centimeters or inches for more precise and consistent measurements.