Metre

{{Short description|SI unit of length}} {{About|the unit of length|instruments like thermometers|Instrumentation|other uses of "metre" or "meter"|Meter (disambiguation)}} {{Use British English|date=September 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox unit | name = metre | image = Metric standards Rijksmuseum.jpg | caption = Replicas of historical metric standards, including a copy of the ''Mètre des Archives'' | standard = SI | quantity = length | symbol = m<ref> {{cite web | url=https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/meter.html | title=Base unit definitions: Meter | publisher=National Institute of Standards and Technology | access-date=2010-09-28 }}</ref> | units1 = Imperial/US units | inunits1 = {{unbulleted list | ≈ {{val|1.0936|u=yd}} | ≈ {{val|3.2808|u=ft}} | ≈ {{val|39.37|u=in}} }} | units2 = Nautical units | inunits2 = ≈ {{val|0.00053996|u=nmi}} }}

The '''metre''' (or '''meter''' in US spelling; symbol: '''m''') is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of {{sfrac|{{val|299792458}}}} of a second, where the second is defined by a hyperfine transition frequency of caesium.<ref name="SIBrochure9thEd"> {{citation |author=International Bureau of Weights and Measures |author-link=International Bureau of Weights and Measures |title=The International System of Units (SI) |date=20 May 2019 |url=https://www.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si-brochure/SI-Brochure-9.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018184555/https://www.bipm.org/documents/20126/41483022/SI-Brochure-9.pdf/fcf090b2-04e6-88cc-1149-c3e029ad8232 |url-status=live |edition=9th |isbn=978-92-822-2272-0 |archive-date=18 October 2021 }}</ref>

The metre was originally defined in 1791 by the French National Assembly as one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along a great circle through Paris, setting {{val|10,000|u=km}} as that quarter of the Earth's polar circumference.

In 1799, the metre was redefined in terms of a prototype metre bar. The bar used was changed in 1889, and in 1960 the metre was redefined in terms of a certain number of wavelengths of a certain emission line of krypton-86. The current definition was adopted in 1983 and modified slightly in 2002 to clarify that the metre is a measure of proper length. From 1983 until 2019, the metre was formally defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum in {{sfrac|1|{{val|299792458}}}} of a second. After the 2019 revision of the SI, this definition was rephrased to include the definition of a second in terms of the caesium frequency {{math|Δ''ν''<sub>Cs</sub>}}. This series of amendments did not alter the size of the metre significantly – modern measurements of the Earth's polar circumference give a figure of {{val|40007.863|u=km}}.{{cn|reason=need a source for this figure and a clarification of whether it's an average, or is for the great circle through Paris, and for true comparison we'd want that specific quarter of that specific great circle|date=December 2025}}

== Etymology and spelling == The etymological roots of ''metre'' can be traced to the Greek verb {{lang|grc|μετρέω}} ({{transliteration|engvar=gb|grc|metreo}}) ((I) measure, count or compare)<ref>{{LSJ|metre/w|μετρέω|ref}}.</ref> and noun {{lang|grc|μέτρον}} ({{transliteration|engvar=gb|grc|metron}}) (a measure),<ref>{{LSJ|me/tron|μέτρον|shortref}}.</ref> which were used for physical measurement, for poetic metre and by extension for moderation or avoiding extremism (as in "be measured in your response"). This range of uses is also found in Latin ({{lang|la|metior, mensura}}), French ({{lang|fr|mètre, mesure}}), English (''meter'' for measuring instruments, but ''metre'' or ''meter'' in poetry) and other languages. The Greek word is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*meh₁-'' 'to measure'. {{efn|The motto {{lang|grc|ΜΕΤΡΩ ΧΡΩ}} ({{transliteration|engvar=gb|grc|metro chro}}) on the seal of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) was approved by Adolphe Hirsch on 11 July 1875 and may be translated as "Keep the measure"; it thus calls for both measurement and moderation.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=History – The BIPM 150 |url=https://thebipm150.org/history/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |language=}}</ref>}} In English, the use of the word ''metre'' (for the French unit {{lang|fr|mètre}}) began at least as early as 1797.<ref name="Oxford">Oxford English Dictionary, Clarendon Press 2nd ed. 1989, vol. IX p. 697 col. 3.</ref>

''Metre'' is the standard spelling of the metric unit for length in all English-speaking nations except the United States<ref> {{cite web |url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.330-2019.pdf |title=The International System of Units (SI) – NIST |publisher=National Institute of Standards and Technology |location=US |date=26 March 2008 |quote=The spelling of English words is in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual, which follows Webster's Third New International Dictionary rather than the Oxford Dictionary. Thus the spellings 'meter', 'liter', 'deka', and 'cesium' are used rather than 'metre', 'litre', 'deca', and 'caesium' as in the original BIPM English text. }}</ref><ref>The most recent official brochure about the International System of Units (SI), written in French by the ''{{lang|fr|Bureau international des poids et mesures}}'', International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) uses the spelling ''metre''; an English translation, included to make the SI standard more widely accessible also uses the spelling ''metre'' (BIPM, 2006, p. 130''ff''). However, in 2008 the U.S. English translation published by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) chose to use the spelling ''meter'' in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual. The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 gives the Secretary of Commerce of the US the responsibility of interpreting or modifying the SI for use in the US. The Secretary of Commerce delegated this authority to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Turner). In 2008, NIST published the US version (Taylor and Thompson, 2008a) of the English text of the eighth edition of the BIPM publication ''{{lang|fr|Le Système international d'unités}} (SI)'' (BIPM, 2006). In the NIST publication, the spellings "meter", "liter" and "deka" are used rather than "metre", "litre" and "deca" as in the original BIPM English text (Taylor and Thompson (2008a), p. iii). The Director of the NIST officially recognised this publication, together with Taylor and Thompson (2008b), as the "legal interpretation" of the SI for the United States (Turner). Thus, the spelling ''metre'' is referred to as the "international spelling"; the spelling ''meter'', as the "American spelling".</ref><ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf |title=Spelling metre or meter |first=Pat |last=Naughtin |website=Metrication Matters |year=2008 |access-date=2017-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011100154/http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf |archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://grammarist.com/spelling/meter-metre/ |title=Meter vs. metre |website=Grammarist |date=21 February 2011 |access-date=2017-03-12 }}</ref> and the Philippines,<ref>The Philippines uses English as an official language and this largely follows American English since the country became a colony of the United States. While the law that converted the country to use the metric system uses ''metre'' (Batas Pambansa Blg. 8) following the SI spelling, in actual practice, ''meter'' is used in government and everyday commerce, as evidenced by laws (''kilometer'', Republic Act No. 7160), Supreme Court decisions (''meter'', G.R. No. 185240), and national standards (''centimeter'', PNS/BAFS 181:2016).</ref> which use ''meter''.

== History of definition == {{excerpt|History of the metre|||files=-Metric standards Rijksmuseum.jpg}}

== SI prefixed forms of metre == {{Main|Orders of magnitude (length)}}

SI prefixes can be used to denote decimal multiples and submultiples of the metre, as shown in the table below. Long distances are usually expressed in km, astronomical units ({{convert|1|au|km|0|disp=out}}), light-years ({{convert|1|ly|au e12km|sigfig=2|disp=out|abbr=unit}}), or parsecs ({{convert|1|pc|au e12km|disp=out|abbr=unit}}), rather than in Mm or larger multiples. "30 cm", "30 m", and "300 m" are more common than "3 dm", "3 dam", and "3 hm", respectively.

The terms ''micron'' and ''millimicron'' have been used instead of ''micrometre'' (μm) and ''nanometre'' (nm), respectively, but this practice is discouraged.<ref>Taylor & Thompson 2003, p. 11.</ref>

{{SI multiples | unit=metre | symbol=m | xd=decimetre | xda=decametre | xc=centimetre | xh=hectometre | xm=millimetre | xk=kilometre | xmc=micrometre | xn=nanometre | xp=picometre | xf=femtometre }}

== Equivalents in other units == {| class=wikitable style="margin:0 auto;" |- ! colspan="5" style="text-align:left;"|Metric unit<br/>expressed in non-SI units ! colspan="4" style="text-align:left;"|Non-SI unit<br/>expressed in metric units |- | 1 metre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|1.0936 ||yard|| | 1 yard||= ||style="text-align:right;"|0.9144 ||metre |- | 1 metre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|39.370 ||inches|| | 1 inch||= ||style="text-align:right;"|0.0254 ||metre |- | 1 centimetre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|{{val|0.39370}} ||inch|| | 1 inch||= ||style="text-align:right;"|2.54 ||centimetres |- | 1 millimetre ||≈ ||style="text-align:right;"|{{val|0.039370}} ||inch|| | 1 inch||= ||style="text-align:right;"|25.4 ||millimetres |- | 1 metre ||= ||style="text-align:right;"|10{{sup|10}}||ångström|| | 1 ångström||= ||style="text-align:right;"|10{{sup|−10}} ||metre |- | 1 nanometre ||= ||style="text-align:right;"|10||ångström|| | 1 ångström||= ||style="text-align:right;"|100 ||picometres |} Within this table, "inch" and "yard" mean "international inch" and "international yard"<ref>Astin & Karo 1959.</ref> respectively, though approximate conversions in the left column hold for both international and survey units. : "≈" means "is approximately equal to"; : "=" means "is exactly equal to".

One metre is exactly equivalent to {{sfrac|5 000|127}} inches and to {{sfrac|1 250|1 143}} yards.

A simple mnemonic to assist with conversion is "three 3s": 1 metre is nearly equivalent to 3 feet {{frac|3|3|8}} inches. This gives an overestimate of 0.125 mm.

The ancient Egyptian cubit was about 0.5 m (surviving rods are 523–529 mm).<ref>Arnold Dieter (1991). [https://books.google.com/books?id=DU04vCP_TFAC ''Building in Egypt: pharaonic stone masonry'']. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-506350-9}}. p.251.</ref> Scottish and English definitions of the ell (2 cubits) were 941 mm (0.941 m) and 1143 mm (1.143 m) respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?plen=7441&startset=10747969&query=ELL&fhit=ell&dregion=form&dtext=snd#fhit |title=Dictionary of the Scots Language |access-date=2011-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321184808/http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?plen=7441&startset=10747969&query=ELL&fhit=ell&dregion=form&dtext=snd#fhit |archive-date=2012-03-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BHnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA221 |title=The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |publisher=Charles Knight |pages=221–22 |date=1840-06-06 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The ancient Parisian ''toise'' (fathom) was slightly shorter than 2 m and was standardised at exactly 2 m in the mesures usuelles system, such that 1 m was exactly {{frac|1|2}} toise.<ref name=H&H>{{cite web |url = https://archive.org/details/outlinesofevolut00halluoft/page/66 |title = Outlines of the evolution of weights and measures and the metric system |first1 = William |last1 = Hallock |first2 = Herbert T |last2 = Wade |publisher = The Macmillan Company |year = 1906 |pages = 66–69|location = London}}</ref> The Russian verst was 1.0668 km.{{sfn|Cardarelli|2004}} The Swedish mil was 10.688 km, but was changed to 10 km when Sweden converted to metric units.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://snl.no/mil |title=Mil |encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon |first=Knut |last=Hofstad |access-date=2019-10-18 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== See also == * ISO 1{{spaced ndash}}standard reference temperature for length measurements * Metric prefix * Metrication

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == {{reflist|30em}}

=== Cited bibliography === {{refbegin}} * {{Anchor|Alder2002}}{{cite book |title=The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World |first=Ken |last=Alder |year=2002 |publisher=Free Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7432-1675-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/measureofallthin00alde }} * {{Anchor|AstinKaro1959}}Astin, A. V. & Karo, H. Arnold (1959). [https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/PUBS_LIB/FedRegister/FRdoc59-5442.pdf ''Refinement of values for the yard and the pound'']. Washington, D.C.: National Bureau of Standards, republished on National Geodetic Survey web site and the ''Federal Register'' (Doc. 59–5442, Filed, 30 June 1959) * {{Anchor|BarbrowJudson1976}}{{cite book | title=Weights and Measures Standards of the United States, a brief history | first=Lewis V. | last=Judson | others=Derived from a prior work by Louis A. Fisher (1905) | editor-first=Louis E. | editor-last=Barbrow | publisher=US Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards | location=US | date=1976-10-01 | orig-year=1963 | id=NBS Special Publication 447; NIST SP 447; 003-003-01654-3 | lccn=76-600055 | doi=10.6028/NBS.SP.447}} * {{Cite book |last=Bigourdan |first=Guillaume |url=https://archive.org/details/lesystmemtri00bigo|title=Le système métrique des poids et mesures; son établissement et sa propagation graduelle, avec l'histoire des opérations qui ont servi à déterminer le mètre et le kilogramme |trans-title=The metric system of weights and measures; its establishment and gradual propagation, with the history of the operations which served to determine the meter and the kilogram |date=1901 |publisher=Gauthier-Villars |location=Paris}} * {{cite EB1911|first1=Alexander Ross |last1=Clarke |author1-link=Alexander Ross Clarke |first2=Friedrich Robert |last2=Helmert |author2-link=Friedrich Robert Helmert |date=1911b |wstitle=Earth, Figure of the|volume=8|pages=801–813}} * {{Anchor|Guedj2001}}{{cite book |title=La Mesure du Monde |trans-title=The Measure of the World |first=Denis |last=Guedj |translator-first=Art |translator-last=Goldhammer |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=2001}} * {{Anchor|Cardarelli2003}}{{cite book |title=Encydopaedia of scientific units, weights, and measures: their SI equivalences and origins |last=Cardarelli |first=François |year=2003 |publisher=Springer-Verlag London Limited |isbn=978-1-85233-682-0 |chapter=Chapter 2: The International system of Units |chapter-url=https://www.francoiscardarelli.ca/PDF_Files/ESU_Sample_Chapter_Section_1_2.pdf#page=6 |at=Table 2.1, p. 5 |quote=Data from Giacomo, P., Du platine à la lumière [From platinum to light], ''Bull. Bur. Nat. Metrologie'', '''102''' (1995) 5–14. |access-date=2017-01-26 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofs0000card }} * {{cite book |last=Cardarelli |first=F. |year=2004 |title=Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: Their SI Equivalences and Origins |publisher=Springer |edition=2nd |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofs0000card/page/120 120]–124 |isbn=1-85233-682-X |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofs0000card |url-access=registration}} * {{anchor|nistmetre}}[https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/meter.html ''Historical context of the SI: Meter'']. Retrieved 26 May 2010. * {{Anchor|NIST2011}}National Institute of Standards and Technology (27 June 2011). ''[https://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/grp50/primary-frequency-standards.cfm NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock]''. Author. * {{Anchor|NPL2010}}National Physical Laboratory (25 March 2010). ''[http://www.npl.co.uk/science-technology/time-frequency/optical-frequency-standards-and-metrology/research/iodine-stabilised-lasers Iodine-Stabilised Lasers]''. Author. * {{Anchor|NRC2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/projects/inms/si-length.html |publisher=National Research Council Canada |title=Maintaining the SI unit of length |date=5 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204014454/http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/projects/inms/si-length.html |archive-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead }} * {{Anchor|PH-BatasPambansa8}}Republic of the Philippines (2 December 1978). ''[http://www.chanrobles.com/bataspambansabilang8.htm Batas Pambansa Blg. 8: An Act Defining the Metric System and its Units, Providing for its Implementation and for Other Purposes]''. Author. * {{Anchor|PH-RA7160}}Republic of the Philippines. (10 October 1991). ''[https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/1991/10oct/19911010-RA-7160-CCA.pdf Republic Act No. 7160: The Local Government Code of the Philippines]''. Author. * {{Anchor|PH-GR185240}} Supreme Court of the Philippines (Second Division) (20 January 2010). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20180427202441/http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/january2010/185240.htm G.R. No. 185240]''. Author. * {{Anchor|taylor2008a}}Taylor, B.N. and Thompson, A. (Eds.) (2008a). [https://web.archive.org/web/20171120061639/https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016/12/07/sp330.pdf ''The International System of Units (SI)'']. United States version of the English text of the eighth edition (2006) of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures publication ''Le Système International d' Unités (SI)'' (Special Publication 330). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 18 August 2008. * {{Anchor|taylor2008b}}Taylor, B.N. and Thompson, A. (2008b). [https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf ''Guide for the Use of the International System of Units''] (Special Publication 811). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 23 August 2008. * {{Anchor|turner}}Turner, J. (deputy director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology). (16 May 2008). [https://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf "Interpretation of the International System of Units (the Metric System of Measurement) for the United States"]. ''Federal Register'' Vol. 73, No. 96, p.{{nbsp}}28432–28433. * {{Anchor|Zagar1999}}Zagar, B.G. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=VXQdq0B3tnUC&pg=PT164#PPT160,M1 Laser interferometer displacement sensors] in J.G. Webster (ed.). ''The Measurement, Instrumentation, and Sensors Handbook''. CRC Press. {{ISBN|0-8493-8347-1}}. {{refend}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Wiktionary-inline|metre}}

Category:Metre Category:1790s introductions Category:SI base units Category:Units of length