metric English · revision 15357
17 Oct 2026, 16:12 by bogdan “en10k b0435: blah … shiny” current version
Initial text
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+ Metric, of the metre as a unit of length, is from French; metric, of metre in verse or measurement, is from Greek.^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈmɛt.ɹɪk/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|of the metric system}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1855|origins=grc μέτρον}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The metric of the metric system is [[bor|fr|métrique]], from [[m|fr|mètre|t=metre]] (see [[metre]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) and partly a shortening of the earlier English [[metrical]] (1797) in the same sense.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The French unit is from [[grc|μέτρον|tr=métron|t=measure]].^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Of the system of weights and measures based on the metre: 1855 in Etymonline, with ''metric system'' by the same year;^(Etymonline) 1862 in Merriam-Webster and 1864 in Barnhart and the OED.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Metricize was used from 1873, replaced by metricate and metrication in 1965.^(Barnhart 1988) Informally, ''the metric'' is short for the metric system.^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1797 – metrical, of the metre.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1855 – metric; metric system.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1873 – metricize.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1965 – metrication.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of or relating to the [[metre]] or the [[metric system]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[metrication]]
+ * [[metricate]]
+ * [[metric system]]
+ * [[metric ton]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|measure; metre in verse}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1760|origins=grc μέτρον}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The other metric is [[bor|la|metrica]], from [[grc|μετρική|tr=metrikḗ|t=prosody]], the feminine of [[m|grc|μετρικός|tr=metrikós]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|grc|μέτρον|tr=métron|t=measure, metre]],^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*meh₁-|t=to measure]].^(Etymonline) In its other senses it is a variant of [[metrical]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The science of versification: 1760 in Etymonline, the OED and Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) Middle English had ''metrik'', the branch of music dealing with measure or time, in the late 15th century, from [[m|la-med|metricus]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In mathematics and physics a metric is a function defining distance between points, from 1921.^(OED 1989) The general sense, a standard or system of measurement, as in business ''metrics'', is recent.^(AHD)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * late 15th century – metrik, in music.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1760 – the science of metre.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1921 – a metric in mathematics.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A standard or system of measurement.^(AHD)
+ # ''(mathematics)'' A function defining the distance between any two points of a [[set]] or space.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # Poetic [[metre]]; the study of metre.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Relating to distance; [[metrical]].^(AHD)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[metre]]
+ * [[metrical]]
+ * [[measure]]
+ * [[geometry]]
+ * [[symmetry]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}