Where does “metre” come from?
Metre comes from French mètre, derived from Ancient Greek μέτρον meaning "measure," a foundational concept in quantifying length and distance.
metre (English): The basic unit of length in the International...
Definitions
- The basic unit of length in the International...
Ancestry of “metre”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | mètre | metre/meter; first-person singular present... |
| 2 | Latin | metrum | a measure |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |