millimètre

Forms

millimètre m (plural millimètres)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from French milli- + mètre, made for the metric system.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Littré points out that milli- here takes mille in the reversed sense “thousandth”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1792, in the report of Borda, Lagrange, Condorcet and Laplace to the Académie des sciences, as the thousandth part of the mètre¹.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In 1795 Prieur de la Côte-d'Or's note on weights and measures proposed déci-, centi- and, if needed, milli- for submultiples, but the compounds in milli- were left out of the law of 7 April 1795.^[2] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF date the word from 1795, the GLLF from the Bulletin des lois.^[3][4][5]

Millimètre carré and millimètre cube are recorded by Larousse in 1874, and millimètre de mercure, a unit of pressure, by the Robert in 1959.^[5] The adjectives millimétré and millimétrique describe graph paper ruled in millimetres.^[2]

Timeline

• 1792 – Borda, Lagrange, Condorcet and Laplace use it in a report to the Académie des sciences.^[2]
• 1795 – The Bulletin des lois records it.^[5]
• 1874 – Larousse records millimètre carré and millimètre cube.^[5]
• 1959 – The Robert records millimètre de mercure.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A millimetre, the thousandth part of a mètre¹ (symbol mm): mesurer au millimètre près.^[4][2][1]
2. Millimètre carré, millimètre cube: units of area and volume based on the millimetre.^[5][2]
3. Millimètre de mercure: a unit of pressure.^[5][4]
4. The width of a cinema film: un film en seize millimètres.^[4]

Word family

• millimétré
• millimétrique

Related words

• mètre
• centimètre
• mille

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette