Where does “metric” come from?
Metric comes from French métrique, from Ancient Greek σύν, from Proto-Indo-European sem-, meaning together or one.
metric (English): Of or relating to the metric system of...
Definitions
- Of or relating to the metric system of...
Ancestry of “metric”, step by step
metric traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English chronometric
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chronometric | Of or pertaining to a chronometer or to... |
| 2 | English | -metric | Forming adjectives corresponding to nouns in... |
| 3 | French | -métrique | -metric |
| 4 | Latin | metricus | metrical; metric, metrical; metric |
| 5 | Latin | metrum | a measure |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |