Where does “metric system” come from?
metric system (English) comes from English metric, from English chronometric, from English -metric, from French -métrique, from Latin metricus, from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον, from Ancient Greek -τρον — Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...
metric system (English): The system of measurements developed in France in...
Definitions
- The system of measurements developed in France in...
Ancestry of “metric system”, step by step
metric system traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English metric
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | metric | Of or relating to the metric system of... |
| 2 | English | chronometric | Of or pertaining to a chronometer or to... |
| 3 | English | -metric | Forming adjectives corresponding to nouns in... |
| 4 | French | -métrique | -metric |
| 5 | Latin | metricus | metrical; metric, metrical; metric |
| 6 | Latin | metrum | a measure |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 9 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
via English system
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | system | A collection of organized things; a whole... |
| 2 | Late Latin | systema | harmony; musical scale; set of celestial objects;... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | σύστημα | a whole made of several parts or members, system;... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -μᾰ | "suffix forming a noun denoting the result of an... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -mn̥ | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs |