Quite often you can hear the phrase "seven spans in the forehead", but not everyone knows the history of its origin and what it originally meant. Of course, many assume that this phrase refers to a person with extraordinary mental abilities. But what does the span have to do with it, and why there are seven of them, this is the question.
Slavic interpretation
According to the explanatory dictionary, the word span (other options - a span or a quarter) in the old days meant a measure of length, which is equal to the distance between the fingers of the palm, if they are spread as far as possible. It is consonant with the Slavic "five", that is, stretch or pull. It is from here that the word "hoop" takes its name. There used to be two spans - large and small. A large span is equal to the length from thumb to middle toe (approximately 20 cm). A small span (10-12 cm) is the distance between the thumb and forefinger. It was she who was used to measure fabrics when sold in pre-revolutionary Russia. If you delve deeper into the old system of measures, you can find out that an inch is equal to one quarter or four vershoks and is 17.77 cm. After simple calculations, it turns out that seven spans are equal to almost 125 cm. Isn't it too much for a forehead?
Phraseologism "seven spans in the forehead" should refer to an intelligent and extraordinary person. After all, logically, the higher the forehead, the more brains in the head. And the brains must conduct active mental work. From here came the antonym of the expression - "narrow-minded" or, in a simple way, a fool.
Modern interpretation
Try to imagine a standard scene from the life of any scientist. Deeply thoughtful person. Thoughts just ask for a blank sheet of paper. Elbow on the table, palm on the forehead. It is enough to pay attention to the location of the fingers. The thumb is on one temple, the middle one on the other. Here it is. This means that an ordinary person has just one inch in his forehead and fits. And according to the logic of things, a thinker who thinks very well may have seven such spans, because he alone thinks like seven.
Modern linguistic scientists have come to the conclusion that the expression "seven spans in the forehead" speaks of a quick-witted and intelligent person with unique abilities, who is well-versed in various fields of activity. There was a hypothesis that the height of the forehead is directly proportional to the intellect of a person, and the span is a conditional unit for measuring mental capabilities, somewhat reminiscent of the now fashionable IQ. And this newest span does not belong to any of the currently known measurement systems. The presumptive classification looks like this: one inch is the minimum value, a narrow-minded person. Seven spans is a giant of thought, and the golden mean will pull three or four spans.
