morgen

Definition

A unit of measurement of land in the Netherlands and the Dutch colonies and parts of the United States, where it was equivalent to about two acres; and in Denmark, Norway, and Germany, where it was equivalent to about two-thirds of an acre. Now used informally in Germany to mean one quarter of a hectare.

Etymology

From Dutch morgen and German Morgen, both literally "morning", probably originally indicated the amount of land that can be ploughed by a team of oxen in a morning. Doublet of morn and morrow.

Example Sentences

• "‘All my life spent hating a poor little tyrant on a few morgen of poor soil, and he'd never known anything else.’"