metro Italian · revision 38161

+ Italian has three nouns spelled ''metro'': the learned ''metro'' of verse and measure, from Latin; the unit of length, from French; and the feminine ''metro'', short for ''metropolitana''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) DELI numbers the first two in this order, and GRADIT puts the unit first.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ {{homograph|1|metre (in verse), measure}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1321, Dante|origins=grc μέτρον}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɛ.tro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''metro''' ''m'' (plural metri)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian had the feminine plural ''le metra''.^(GDLI) 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.^(DEI|2445)^(Prati 1951|659)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The metre of verse is a learned word, [[bor|la|metrum]], [[der|grc|μέτρον|tr=métron|t=measure]], of Indo-European origin.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) Nocentini derives the Greek word from the root [[ine-pro|*mē-|t=to measure]], which also gave [[mese]] and [[misura]].^(Nocentini 2010) The Latin adjective [[m|la|metricus]] gave [[metrico]], and the noun used for the art of verse gave [[metrica]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The word is also [[fr|mètre]] and [[es|metro]].^(Nocentini 2010)

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+ 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.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==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).^(Nocentini 2010)^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999) DELI and GRADIT date the metrical sense to the 14th century, with ''metra'' in Cecco Nuccoli and ''metro'' in Boccaccio, before 1375.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==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).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020) In 1340 ''metro'' is recorded as a measure of capacity of the Levant.^(DELI 1999) 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.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

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+ English borrowed ''metro'' (from Italian or Spanish) for a poetic metre in 1619; the word is obsolete there.^(DIFIT)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1321 – Dante uses ''metro'' for “measure” and for verse.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1340 – ''Metro'' is a measure of capacity of the Levant.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 14th century – Cecco Nuccoli uses ''metra''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1375 – Boccaccio uses ''metro'' for the measure of verse.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1619 – English ''metro'' is recorded.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(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.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # In modern poetry, the metrical scheme of a line, stanza or poem: ''Il poeta ha scelto un metro insolito per questa ballata.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A measure, limit, as in ''sanza metro'' (beyond measure).^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(literary)'' Verse, poetry; a way of speaking, a tone.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(literary)'' A beat, a sound repeated at regular intervals.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[metrica]]

+ * [[metrico]]

+ * [[metrologia]]

+ * [[metronomo]]

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+ {{homograph|2|metre (unit of length)}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1798, Cisalpine Republic|origins=grc μέτρον}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɛ.tro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''metro''' ''m'' (plural metri)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The unit of length is [[bor|fr|mètre]] (1791), formed from [[grc|μέτρον|tr=métron|t=measure]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) 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.^(DELI 1999)

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+ 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).^(DELI 1999) The derivative [[metraggio]] is [[fr|métrage]], while [[metratura]] was formed in Italian.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in the proceedings of the assemblies of the Cisalpine Republic, in 1798;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) GRADIT and Sabatini–Coletti date it to 1801.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) DELI notes that the date 1791 sometimes given is that of the French word.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==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.^(Treccani 2011)^(Zingarelli 2010) The name passed to the measuring rule or tape (1902, Giovanni Pascoli), and figuratively to a standard of judgement (before 1917, Giovanni Boine).^(DELI 1999)

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+ ''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.^(DELI 1999)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1675 – Tito Livio Burattini proposes a ''Metro Cattolico''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1791 – The French Académie des Sciences proposes the ''mètre''.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 1798 – ''Metro'' appears in the acts of the Cisalpine Republic.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1881 – ''Metratura'' and ''metraggio'' are recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1902 – Giovanni Pascoli uses it for a measuring rule.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1917 – Giovanni Boine uses it for a standard of judgement.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|metre]], the basic unit of length of the metric system and the International System: ''La stanza è lunga quattro metri.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A measuring rule or tape a metre or more long, divided into centimetres: ''metro a nastro'', ''metro da sarto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A [[m|en|yardstick]], a standard of judgement: ''Non puoi giudicare tutti con lo stesso metro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A way of behaving: ''Con lui devi cambiare metro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[centimetro]]

+ * [[millimetro]]

+ * [[decimetro]]

+ * [[chilometro]]

+ * [[metraggio]]

+ * [[metratura]]

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+ {{homograph|3|underground railway}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=second half of the 20th century}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmɛ.tro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''metro''' ''f'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ The underground railway is a clipping of [[metropolitana]].^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(GDLI) The full word (1932) is short for “ferrovia metropolitana”, after [[fr|chemin de fer métropolitain]], and French has the same shortening, [[fr|métro]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Devoto–Oli date the short form to the second half of the 20th century.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(feminine, invariable)'' The [[m|en|underground]], the [[m|en|subway]], an urban railway: ''Per andare in centro prendo la metro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[misura]]

+ * [[la|metrum]]

+ * [[grc|μέτρον|tr=métron]]

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}