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Michael Quinion's World Wide Words dispels the widespread notion that the original "rule of thumb" was an arcane law stating that a man can beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb. The phrase first appears in writing in 1692, and refers to "some method or procedure that comes from practice or experience, without any formal basis." While the phrase lacks a definite origin, Mr. Quinion posits that it comes from a long tradition of marking measurements with various body parts: two-feet long, three-hands wide, etc. It probably refers to the first joint of the thumb, which is more or less an inch long. So the "rule" referred to in "rule of thumb" isn't an edict so much as a measurement. Evan Morris, known in some
circles as the Word Detective, concurs. He goes on to cast aspersions on the mythic sexist derivation, stating: "So I guess the first 'rule of thumb' in these cases is 'Check your sources, lest they be hokum.'"
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