metric

Metric, of the metre as a unit of length, is from French; metric, of metre in verse or measurement, is from Greek.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈmɛt.ɹɪk/^[3]

metric¹ of the metric system

Etymology

The metric of the metric system is borrowed from French métrique, from mètre (“metre”) (see metre),^[4][5][1][2] and partly a shortening of the earlier English metrical (1797) in the same sense.^[5][4] The French unit is from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the system of weights and measures based on the metre: 1855 in Etymonline, with metric system by the same year;^[4] 1862 in Merriam-Webster and 1864 in Barnhart and the OED.^[1][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Metricize was used from 1873, replaced by metricate and metrication in 1965.^[5] Informally, the metric is short for the metric system.^[7]

Timeline

• 1797 – metrical, of the metre.^[5][4]
• 1855 – metric; metric system.^[4]
• 1873 – metricize.^[5]
• 1965 – metrication.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the metre or the metric system.

Word family

• metrication
• metricate
• metric system
• metric ton

metric² measure; metre in verse

Etymology

The other metric is borrowed from Latin metrica, from Ancient Greek μετρική (metrikḗ, “prosody”), the feminine of μετρικός (metrikós),^[4][1][2] from μέτρον (métron, “measure, metre”),^[4] from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”).^[4] In its other senses it is a variant of metrical.^[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The science of versification: 1760 in Etymonline, the OED and Merriam-Webster.^[4][6][1] Middle English had metrik, the branch of music dealing with measure or time, in the late 15th century, from metricus.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In mathematics and physics a metric is a function defining distance between points, from 1921.^[6] The general sense, a standard or system of measurement, as in business metrics, is recent.^[8]

Timeline

• late 15th century – metrik, in music.^[4]
• 1760 – the science of metre.^[4][6]
• 1921 – a metric in mathematics.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A standard or system of measurement.
2. (mathematics) A function defining the distance between any two points of a set or space.
3. Poetic metre; the study of metre.

Adjective

1. Relating to distance; metrical.

Related words

• metre
• metrical
• measure
• geometry
• symmetry

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
2. ^ a b c d Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin