metro

metro¹ metre (in verse), measure

Etymology tree of metro¹

inherited borrowed derived

Ancient Greek μέτρον

Latin metrum

French mètre

English meter

German Meter

Italian metro

From the same root · metro¹

English symmetry ← μέτρον

French kilomètre ← mètre

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɛ.tro/^[3]

Forms

metro m (plural metri)^[3] Old Italian had the feminine plural le metra.^[4] Popular forms of the same word survive as Old Paduan medro (a measure of length), Old Marchigian medro (a measure of volume) and Old Friulian miero (1329); in Venice miero was a measure of 25 pounds of oil.^[5][6][7]

Etymology

The metre of verse is a learned word, borrowed from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”), of Indo-European origin.^[1][8][2] Nocentini derives the Greek word from the root Proto-Indo-European *mē- (“to measure”), which also gave mese and misura.^[8] The Latin adjective metricus gave metrico, and the noun used for the art of verse gave metrica.^[1][8] The word is also French mètre and Spanish metro.^[8]

Boccaccio explained the name himself: “dicesi metro da ‘metros’ grece, che in latino suona ‘misura’” (it is called metro from the Greek word, which in Latin means “measure”), because verses are measured by a measure.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini's first date is before 1321, in Dante, who uses the word in its Greek sense “measure”: in Purgatory the fire is so hot that it burns “sanza metro” (beyond measure).^[8][4][1] DELI and GRADIT date the metrical sense to the 14th century, with metra in Cecco Nuccoli and metro in Boccaccio, before 1375.^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

Dante used the word also for verse and for a way of speaking: “e con paura il metto in metro” (and with fear I put it in verse), and “pur rispuosi lui a questo metro” (I answered him in this manner).^[2][9] In 1340 metro is recorded as a measure of capacity of the Levant.^[1] Tommaseo's dictionary (1869) has the sense “system of versification”, and Leopardi uses it for a regular beat, comparing thunder to that of a torrent.^[1][2]

English borrowed metro (from Italian or Spanish) for a poetic metre in 1619; the word is obsolete there.^[10]

Timeline

• Before 1321 – Dante uses metro for “measure” and for verse.^[8][2]
• 1340 – Metro is a measure of capacity of the Levant.^[1]
• 14th century – Cecco Nuccoli uses metra.^[1]
• Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses metro for the measure of verse.^[1][2]
• 1619 – English metro is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (prosody) In Greek and Latin verse, the unit of measure of a line, made of one or two feet; also the line or stanza made of such units.^[2][11][12]
2. In modern poetry, the metrical scheme of a line, stanza or poem: Il poeta ha scelto un metro insolito per questa ballata.^[2][11][9]
3. (archaic) A measure, limit, as in sanza metro (beyond measure).^[2][11]
4. (literary) Verse, poetry; a way of speaking, a tone.^[2][11][12]
5. (literary) A beat, a sound repeated at regular intervals.^[2]

Word family

• metrica
• metrico
• metrologia
• metronomo

metro² metre (unit of length)

Etymology tree of metro²

inherited borrowed derived

Ancient Greek μέτρον

Latin metrum

French mètre

English meter

German Meter

Italian metro

From the same root · metro²

English symmetry ← μέτρον

French kilomètre ← mètre

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɛ.tro/^[3]

Forms

metro m (plural metri)^[3]

Etymology

The unit of length is borrowed from French mètre (1791), formed from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”).^[1][8][2] On 26 May 1791 the Académie des Sciences proposed the new unit as the single measure of length for the whole country, not without opposition.^[1]

Earlier, as Migliorini noted, the Italian physicist Tito Livio Burattini of Agordo had used the Greek word for a universal unit in his “Misura universale” (1675): “cavarò prima il mio Metro Cattolico cioè misura universale” (I shall first derive my Universal Metre, that is, universal measure).^[1] The derivative metraggio is French métrage, while metratura was formed in Italian.^[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the proceedings of the assemblies of the Cisalpine Republic, in 1798;^{[1][8][2][11]} GRADIT and Sabatini–Coletti date it to 1801.^{[1][8][2][11]} DELI notes that the date 1791 sometimes given is that of the French word.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The metre was defined at first as one ten-millionth of the arc of meridian between a pole and the equator, then by a material standard, and since 1983 by the distance light travels in a fraction of a second.^[13][12] The name passed to the measuring rule or tape (1902, Giovanni Pascoli), and figuratively to a standard of judgement (before 1917, Giovanni Boine).^[1]

Metraggio was first the measuring in metres (1905) and the quantity of material in metres (1881), and then the length of a film: film a lungo, a corto metraggio is recorded in 1926.^[1]

Timeline

• 1675 – Tito Livio Burattini proposes a Metro Cattolico.^[1]
• 1791 – The French Académie des Sciences proposes the mètre.^[1][2]
• 1798 – Metro appears in the acts of the Cisalpine Republic.^[1][8]
• 1881 – Metratura and metraggio are recorded.^[1]
• 1902 – Giovanni Pascoli uses it for a measuring rule.^[1]
• Before 1917 – Giovanni Boine uses it for a standard of judgement.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. A metre, the basic unit of length of the metric system and the International System: La stanza è lunga quattro metri.^[2][14][11]
2. A measuring rule or tape a metre or more long, divided into centimetres: metro a nastro, metro da sarto.^[2][11][12]
3. (figurative) A yardstick, a standard of judgement: Non puoi giudicare tutti con lo stesso metro.^[2][11][12]
4. A way of behaving: Con lui devi cambiare metro.^[2][9]

Word family

• centimetro
• millimetro
• decimetro
• chilometro
• metraggio
• metratura

metro³ underground railway

Pronunciation

• /ˈmɛ.tro/^[3]

Forms

metro f (invariable)^[3]

Etymology

The underground railway is a clipping of metropolitana.^[3][14][4] The full word (1932) is short for “ferrovia metropolitana”, after French chemin de fer métropolitain, and French has the same shortening, French métro.^[2][14][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Devoto–Oli date the short form to the second half of the 20th century.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. (feminine, invariable) The underground, the subway, an urban railway: Per andare in centro prendo la metro.^{[2][14][13][3]}