Meter German · revision 35023

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=18th century|origins=grc μέτρον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmeːtɐ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Meter''' ''m'' or (dated, formerly in technical usage) n (genitive Meters, plural Meter)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|mètre]], from [[grc|μέτρον|tr=métron|t=measure]].^(Kluge 2011|618)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|551) The French word was recommended in 1790 as the name of the basic unit of length in the system of measures set up by the National Assembly, and the measure was fixed in 1795.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|618) The Duden dictionary gives the French word's source as [[la|metrum]], from the Greek.^(Duden GWDS 1999) Wahrig connects the Greek noun with [[m|grc|μετρέω|tr=metréō|t=to measure]].^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)

+

+ The same word forms [[Kilometer]], [[Millimeter]] and [[Zentimeter]], which came from French in the 19th century.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|551) A separate element is the suffix [[-meter]] “measuring instrument”, taken directly from the Greek in learned compounds such as [[Barometer]] and [[Thermometer]] from the 17th century on.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|551)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Kluge dates the German word to the 18th century, with the measure fixed in 1795, while Pfeifer and the Duden place the borrowing in the 19th century.^(Kluge 2011|618)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|551) It became the legal unit of length by a law of 1868.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020|551)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The law of 1868 also gave the unit the German name ''Stab'' “rod”, but this never took hold against the foreign word.^(DWB|12, 2146) Hungarian borrowed ''méter'' by 1837.^(LWP) The word has been masculine in general use and neuter in technical language;^(Paul 2002)^(Wiktionary) in Switzerland only the masculine is used.^(Duden Fremdwörterbuch 2007) Today it is the SI base unit of length, defined by the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1790 – The French name ''mètre'' is recommended to the National Assembly.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1795 – The measure is fixed in France.^(Kluge 2011|618)

+ * 1837 – Hungarian ''méter'' is recorded.^(LWP)

+ * 1868 – ''Meter'' becomes the legal unit of length in Germany.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB|12, 2146)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|metre]], the basic unit of [[m|en|length]]; symbol ''m'': ''das Regal ist zwei Meter hoch''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Kilometer]]

+ * [[Zentimeter]]

+ * [[Millimeter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Metrum]]

+ * [[Metrik]]

+ * [[Barometer]]

+ * [[Thermometer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Laufende Meter'' or ''am laufenden Meter'' ''(slang)'' means “again and again, continuously”.^(Duden GWDS 1999) The older language had an unrelated feminine ''Meter'', a name of the plant feverfew and of lemon balm, a corruption of Latin ''matricaria''.^(DWB|12, 2145)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}