Kilometer
/kɪˈlɑː.mə.tər/noun
A unit of length equal to 1,000 meters.
Did you know?The first element comes from Greek khilioi, meaning “a thousand,” which also gave English the word chiliad, while the metric system turned that ancient number-root into a global unit of power and precision.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
khilioi
“a thousand”
Late Latin
Latin
chiliometrum
“a thousand-meter measure”
18th Century
French
kilomètre
“a unit of 1,000 meters in the metric system”
19th Century
English
kilometer
“a metric unit of length equal to 1,000 meters”
Modern English
English
kilometer
“the standard unit for measuring distance in the metric system”