Etymology and origin of the French word métrique
métrique1 of verse and metre
Etymology tree of métrique1
From the same root · métrique1
Pronunciation
- /me.tʁik/[1]
Forms
métrique (plural métriques)[1]
Etymology
The word for verse and metre is borrowed from Latin metricus (“metrical”),[2][3][4][1] from Ancient Greek μετρικός (metrikós),[2][4][5] from μέτρον (métron, “measure, metre”).[2][5] The noun, the study of verse, was taken separately from Late Latin metrica (5th century), the feminine of the Greek adjective used as a noun.[2][6][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
It first appears in 1495, as metricque in Jean de Vignay's Miroir historial, meaning “written in verse”.[2][6][3]
Semantic evolution
Geoffroy Tory used it in 1529 in the sense “relating to the metre of verse”.[2][3] As a noun, the study of the elements of verse, it is recorded before 1672 in Guy Patin, and Trévoux applied it in 1721 to the part of ancient music that dealt with prosody.[2][3] From 1827 it also named a system of versification and its rules.[6][4] The derivative métricien (1846) means a specialist in metre.[6]
Vers métriques, verses built on syllable length as in Greek and Latin, were contrasted with the rhymed, syllable-counting verse of French; the name was also given to French attempts at such verse.[5][2]
Timeline
- 1495 – Metricque “written in verse” in Jean de Vignay's Miroir historial.[2][3]
- 1529 – Geoffroy Tory uses it of the metre of verse.[2][3]
- Before 1672 – Guy Patin uses the noun for the study of verse.[2][3]
- 1721 – Trévoux records the noun for a part of ancient music.[2]
- 1827 – First record for a system of versification.[6][4]
Meanings
Adjective
- (prosody) Relating to metre or to the measure of verse: vers métrique, verse based on the length of syllables.[7][8][2]
- (music) Relating to units of time grouped into bars.[2]
Noun
métrique2 of the metre as a unit
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1795 La Feuille du cultivateur
- Ultimate origin
- Ancient Greek μέτρον
Etymology tree of métrique2
From the same root · métrique2
Pronunciation
- /me.tʁik/[1]
Forms
métrique (plural métriques)[1]
Etymology
The word for measures based on the metre is formed from French mètre1 + -ique,[2][3][10][4] after the unit adopted by a law of 1791 and named from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”).[6][10] The mathematical sense “founded on measure, relating to distance” (1905) is treated by the TLFi as a separate learned derivative of the Greek noun,[2] and by the GLLF as a sense of this word.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first recorded in 1795, in système métrique in La Feuille du cultivateur, and in a law of 1799.[2][10]
Semantic evolution
The word was made for the decimal system of weights and measures founded on the metre, instituted in France in 1795.[7][4] It was then used of other measures based on the metre, the quintal métrique (1845) and the tonne métrique (1874).[3]
Henri Poincaré used it in 1905 in geometry, for what concerns measure and distance;[3][2] espace métrique is recorded in 1963.[3][2] As a feminine noun in mathematics it means a theory of measure in a space.[2] English metric (1855) comes from this French word.[11]
Timeline
- 1795 – Système métrique in La Feuille du cultivateur.[2][10]
- 1799 – Used in a law of the Republic.[2]
- 1845 – Bescherelle records quintal métrique.[3]
- 1855 – English metric is borrowed from it.[11]
- 1905 – Henri Poincaré uses it in geometry.[2][3]
Meanings
Adjective
- Relating to the metre or to the units based on it: système métrique, the metric system.[7][9][2]
- (mathematics) Relating to distance or measure: espace métrique, a metric space.[4][2][3]
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
- ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
- ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Métrique.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/m%C3%A9trique. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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