Meter
/ˈmiː.tər/noun
A unit of length in the metric system equal to 100 centimeters.
Did you know?The meter was originally defined in revolutionary France as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along a meridian, turning the planet into a kind of sacred measuring rod.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
métron (μέτρον)
“measure”
Late Latin
Latin
metrum
“metrical measure; verse measure”
14th Century
Old French
mètre
“measure; poetic meter”
1790s
French
mètre
“the new decimal unit of length based on the Earth”
Modern English
English
meter
“the standard unit of length in the metric system”