I’m regularly impressed at the huge number of Google hits I receive when searching something I expected to be relatively obscure or esoteric. It is unusual that I experience the opposite - few or no hits on something I would expect more info on.
My most recent experience involved “mensure” - a measure/ration of string length on stringed instruments such as violins. I had had some people describe it as simply the measure of the vibrating portion of the string (from nut to bridge), but I also heard it described as a more complicated ratio of various measurements.
So OK, not exactly something everyone needs to know and use every day, but this is freaking Google, right? I was shocked at the paucity of responses. In fact, Google asked if I was spelling the word correctly.
I woulda thought - at the least - that some geeky fiddle player/repairer woulda tossed up a diagram w/ various parts/terms defined.
Mainly, the desired hits are highly diluted by other meanings of the same word, which, after all, is derived from the latin for “measure”
Seems that many sites spell its musical meaning “mensur” without the terminal e. If you use the shorter term, you get hits for both. However,“mensur” is also a German fencing term. You get more precise answers if you search for “mensur string instrument” (ca 200’000 hits). If it is diagrams you are after, go to the image tab, and best include the specific instrument , e.g. “mensur violin”. You don’t want millions of hits, you want the hits most specific to the context you are interested in. To get this, Google works best if you include specific context information in the search terms.
‘Mensure’ in a multitude of spellings is the common word for ‘scale length’ (of stringed instruments) in many European languages. Let’s see how obscure ‘scale length’ is: 1.4 Billion Google hits (not all of them musical instrument-related, of course).
I have often felt, when googling, somewhat disappointed at how vast yet shallow the Internet is. Often times, the meat on esoteric subjects comprise of a handful, or even a single, online source that has been copied ad infinitum, creating the impression of plenty. I have to hit dead tree books all the time to learn on various subjects of interest.
FWIW, the Oxford English Dictionary seems completely unaware of this meaning of the word. It lists only one definition for “mensure” (“to measure”), marked as “Obsolete. rare.” with only one citation from 1429. It lists two definitions for “mensur”, neither in the sense discussed here (“1. The distance between two duellers” and “2. A fencing duel between students”).