> Don’s definition of a pole is quite accurate, is still used today, and was used before the Norman conquest:
>   one pole is 16.5 feet [ and called a rod]
>

I remember reading somewhere that the pole may have come into use as a unit of measurement because it was length of wall (stone, earth, or wood) that one man could defend against an attack.  Another idea was that it was the length of the wooden staff used to control a team of 8 oxen.

John Garrett

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