Kilometer

Forms

Kilometer m or (dated, formerly in technical usage) n (genitive Kilometers, plural Kilometer)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French kilomètre (1790), from kilo- (“thousand”), formed from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “thousand”), and mètre, from μέτρον (métron, “measure”).^[2][3][4] It came into German in the 19th century together with Meter.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The prefix kilo- “a thousand times” was fixed in 1790 by the French National Assembly as part of the metric system, and became international;^[2][3] German Kilometer dates from the 19th century.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Meter became the official German term for the unit of length by law in 1868.^[3] The word could be masculine or neuter (Pfeifer gives both); the neuter, once used in technical writing, is now dated.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 1790 – the French National Assembly fixes the prefix kilo- in the metric system.^[2]
• 19th century – German borrows Kilometer.^[2][3]
• 1868 – Meter becomes the official name of the unit by law.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kilometre, a thousand Meter (symbol km): Bis zum Bahnhof sind es vier Kilometer.^[4][5][1]
2. (colloquial) Kilometres per hour, short for Stundenkilometer: Hier sind nur 60 Kilometer erlaubt.^[4]

Word family

• Stundenkilometer

Related words

• Meter
• Kilogramm
• Zentimeter
• Millimeter

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 551
4. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
5. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag