Metre

Spelling

Metre is the standard spelling of the metric unit for length in nearly all English-speaking nations, the exceptions being the United States |access-date=2017-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011100154/http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf |archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web |url= https://grammarist.com/spelling/meter-metre/ |access-date=2017-03-12

Measuring devices (such as ammeter, speedometer) are spelled "-meter" in all variants of English.{{cite encyclopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703210011/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?searchword=ammeter |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 July 2013 |access-date=2012-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426153254/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/-meter |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 April 2017

Etymology

The etymological roots of metre can be traced to the Greek verb μετρέω () ((I) measure, count or compare) and noun μέτρον () (a measure), which were used for physical measurement, for poetic metre and by extension for moderation or avoiding extremism (as in "be measured in your response"). This range of uses is also found in Latin (metior, mensura), French (mètre, mesure), English and other languages. The Greek word is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *meh₁- 'to measure'. In English, the use of the word metre (for the French unit mètre) began at least as early as 1797.

History of definition

SI prefixed forms of metre

Main article: Orders of magnitude (length)

SI prefixes can be used to denote decimal multiples and submultiples of the metre, as shown in the table below. Long distances are usually expressed in km, astronomical units (1 au), light-years (1 ly), or parsecs (1 pc), rather than in Mm or larger multiples. "30 cm", "30 m", and "300 m" are more common than "3 dm", "3 dam", and "3 hm", respectively.

The terms micron and millimicron have been used instead of micrometre (μm) and nanometre (nm), respectively, but this practice is discouraged.

Equivalents in other units

Within this table, "inch" and "yard" mean "international inch" and "international yard" respectively, though approximate conversions in the left column hold for both international and survey units. : "≈" means "is approximately equal to"; : "=" means "is exactly equal to".

One metre is exactly equivalent to inches and to yards.

A simple mnemonic to assist with conversion is "three 3s": 1 metre is nearly equivalent to 3 feet inches. This gives an overestimate of 0.125 mm.

The ancient Egyptian cubit was about 0.5 m (surviving rods are 523–529 mm). Scottish and English definitions of the ell (2 cubits) were 941 mm (0.941 m) and 1143 mm (1.143 m) respectively. The ancient Parisian toise (fathom) was slightly shorter than 2 m and was standardised at exactly 2 m in the mesures usuelles system, such that 1 m was exactly toise. The Russian verst was 1.0668 km. The Swedish mil was 10.688 km, but was changed to 10 km when Sweden converted to metric units.

Notes

References

Cited bibliography

• Alder2002
• AstinKaro1959Astin, A. V. & Karo, H. Arnold, (1959), Refinement of values for the yard and the pound, Washington DC: National Bureau of Standards, republished on National Geodetic Survey web site and the Federal Register (Doc. 59–5442, Filed, 30 June 1959)
• BarbrowJudson1976
• Guedj2001
• Cardarelli2003
• nistmetreHistorical context of the SI: Meter. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
• NIST2011National Institute of Standards and Technology. (27 June 2011). NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock. Author.
• NPL2010National Physical Laboratory. (25 March 2010). Iodine-Stabilised Lasers. Author.
• NRC2010
• PH-BatasPambansa8Republic of the Philippines. (2 December 1978). Batas Pambansa Blg. 8: An Act Defining the Metric System and its Units, Providing for its Implementation and for Other Purposes. Author.
• PH-RA7160Republic of the Philippines. (10 October 1991). Republic Act No. 7160: The Local Government Code of the Philippines. Author.
• PH-GR185240 Supreme Court of the Philippines (Second Division). (20 January 2010). G.R. No. 185240. Author.
• taylor2008aTaylor, B.N. and Thompson, A. (Eds.). (2008a). The International System of Units (SI). United States version of the English text of the eighth edition (2006) of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures publication Le Système International d' Unités (SI) (Special Publication 330). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
• taylor2008bTaylor, B.N. and Thompson, A. (2008b). Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (Special Publication 811). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
• turnerTurner, J. (deputy director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology). (16 May 2008). "Interpretation of the International System of Units (the Metric System of Measurement) for the United States". Federal Register Vol. 73, No. 96, p.28432–28433.
• Zagar1999Zagar, B.G. (1999). Laser interferometer displacement sensors in J.G. Webster (ed.). The Measurement, Instrumentation, and Sensors Handbook. CRC Press. .

References

1. The most recent official brochure about the International System of Units (SI), written in French by the ''{{lang. fr. Bureau international des poids et mesures'', [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] (BIPM) uses the spelling ''metre''; an English translation, included to make the SI standard more widely accessible also uses the spelling ''metre'' ([[#bipm2006. BIPM, 2006]], p. 130''ff''). However, in 2008 the U.S. English translation published by the U.S. [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] (NIST) chose to use the spelling ''meter'' in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual. The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 gives the Secretary of Commerce of the US the responsibility of interpreting or modifying the SI for use in the US. The Secretary of Commerce delegated this authority to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology ([[#turner. Turner]]). In 2008, NIST published the US version ([[#taylor2008a. Taylor and Thompson, 2008a]]) of the English text of the eighth edition of the BIPM publication ''{{lang. fr. Le Système international d'unités (SI)'' (BIPM, 2006). In the NIST publication, the spellings "meter", "liter" and "deka" are used rather than "metre", "litre" and "deca" as in the original BIPM English text ([[#taylor2008a. Taylor and Thompson (2008a), p. iii]]). The Director of the NIST officially recognised this publication, together with [[#taylor2008b. Taylor and Thompson (2008b)]], as the "legal interpretation" of the SI for the United States ([[#turner. Turner]]). Thus, the spelling ''metre'' is referred to as the "international spelling"; the spelling ''meter'', as the "American spelling".
2. The Philippines uses [[Philippine English. English]] as an official language and this largely follows American English since the country became a colony of the United States. While the law that converted the country to use the [[metric system]] uses ''metre'' ([[#PH-BatasPambansa8. Batas Pambansa Blg. 8]]) following the SI spelling, in actual practice, ''meter'' is used in government and everyday commerce, as evidenced by laws (''kilometer'', [[#PH-RA7160. Republic Act No. 7160]]), Supreme Court decisions (''meter'', [[#PH-GR185240. G.R. No. 185240]]), and national standards (''centimeter'', [[#PH-PNSBAFS181-2016. PNS/BAFS 181:2016]]).
3. {{LSJ. metre/w. μετρέω. ref.
4. {{LSJ. me/tron. μέτρον. shortref.
5. "History – The BIPM 150".
6. [[Oxford English Dictionary]], Clarendon Press 2nd ed. 1989, vol. IX p. 697 col. 3.
7. [[#taylor2008b. Taylor & Thompson 2003, p. 11.]]
8. [[#AstinKaro1959. Astin & Karo 1959]].
9. 978-0-19-506350-9. p.251.
10. "Dictionary of the Scots Language".
11. (1840-06-06). "The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge". Charles Knight.
12. (1906). "Outlines of the evolution of weights and measures and the metric system". The Macmillan Company.
13. Hofstad, Knut. "Mil".