metremetern.¹

Brit.

/ˈmiːtə/, U.S.

/ˈmidər/

Forms: Old English– meter (now chiefly U.S.), Middle English metir, Middle English metire, Middle English metur, Middle English metyre, Middle English myture, Middle English–1500s metyr, Middle English–1500s mytar, Middle English–1600s meetre, Middle English–1700s meeter, Middle English– metre, 1500s myter, 1500s mytre, 1500s–1600s miter, 1600s metar, 1700s meteer; Scottish pre-1700 meater, pre-1700 meeter, pre-1700 meetre, pre-1700 meetter, pre-1700 meiter, pre-1700 meitir, pre-1700 meitter, pre-1700 meter, pre-1700 metere, pre-1700 meteyr, pre-1700 metire, pre-1700 metter, pre-1700 mettere, pre-1700 metyr, pre-1700 metyre, pre-1700 miter, pre-1700 mitre, pre-1700 1700s– pre-1700 metre, 1900s– metir.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin metrum; French metre.

Etymology: Partly < classical Latin metrum poetic metre, a vessel or other object used for measuring (in post-classical Latin also ‘type of metre, line of verse, poem’ (2nd–3rd cent.)) < ancient Greek μέτρον poetic metre, measure, rule, length, size < an extended form of an Indo-European base meaning ‘to measure’ (see meal n.²), and partly a reborrowing in Middle English < its reflex Anglo-Norman and Middle French metre (end of the 12th cent. in Old French; French mètre). Compare Italian metro (a1375), Spanish metro (1449), Portuguese metro (16th cent.), Old High German mētar, mēter.With metre royal at sense 1b compare rhythm royal n. and discussion at that entry.

I. Poetic rhythm; a technique or arrangement by which this is achieved.

a. Any specific form of poetic rhythm, its kind being determined by the character and number of recurring units of rhythm (esp. feet) within the verse. Frequently with modifying word.This sense also occurs spec. in the names of certain characteristic forms of verse used in English hymns, such as common metre n., long metre n., short metre n. peculiar (also proper) metre n. a metre used only in a particular hymn, or at least not identical with any of the metres having recognized names (abbreviated P.M.).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > variety of

metreOE

measurec1450

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > variety of > metre used only for particular hymn

peculiar (also proper) metreOE

P.M.1764

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Otho) v. Concl. 484 Þæs halgan fæder lif & muneces somed & bisceopes Sancte Cuþbertes ærest eroico metere..ic awrat... Ymenbec misenlice metre. Boc epigrammatum eroico metre.

OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) i. iii. 48 Þas þing he to gerihte and mid leoðlicum metre be þam monðum þus giddode.

c1390 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 48 Chaucer, thogh he kan but lewedly On metres, and on rymyng craftily.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 377 Formatus, the poete..drawede the gestes of Seynte Martyne..in metre heroicalle.

1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 91 Whyche thre [verses] are of dyuerse metre from the tother.

1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 6 Bothe in matter, myter, and meaninge, yt must needes gather corruptione, passinge throughe so manye handes.

1609 T. Heywood Troia Britanica viii. ii. 170 Greeke Pindarus, whose meeters made men dote.

1657 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer (1661) 361 They used all decent and grave variety of rhymes and Meeters in their Hymns and Psalms.

1749 J. Mason Ess. Power & Harmony Prosaic Numbers 74 To one or other of which [three Measures] (however various be the Metre) almost all kinds of English Verse may be reduced.

1798 Select. Psalms & Hymns Hymn vii. Pec. M.

1798 Select. Psalms & Hymns Hymn x. Prop. M.

1798 Select. Psalms & Hymns Hymn xxii. Pecul. Metre.

1863 Ld. Tennyson Hendecasyllabics in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 708 All composed in a metre of Catullus.

1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. xii. 250 Poetry employs words in fixed rhythms, which we call metres.

1945 E. K. Chambers Eng. Lit. at Close of Middle Ages i. 25 The metre of the Chester plays..is a Romance metre of the type known as rime couée or tail-rhyme.

1981 G. S. Fraser Short Hist. Eng. Poetry i. 2 The metre of Michael Alexander's rendering is likely to strike most readers as easy and pleasant to read but not the metre they are most accustomed to.

†b. metre royal: = rhyme royal n. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > [noun] > rhyme royal

ballade royala1450

metre royal1548

rhythm royal1575

rhyme royal1827

1548 W. Forrest in T. Starkey Eng. in Reign Henry VIII (1878) i. p. lxxxiii A notable warke..composed of late in meatre royall by..sir William forrest preeiste.

1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 73 A ioyfull commendation of that season contayning 16. staues in meter Royall, beginning thus.

†c. Rhyme. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > types of poem according to form > [noun] > rhyming poem

rhymea1300

rhythm1567

metre1591

1591 J. Harington Briefe Apol. Poetrie in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso sig. ¶viij^v For them that find fault with polysyllable meeter.

a1612 J. Harington Epigrams (1618) iii. xliv. sig. K1 The Cadens falleth sweeter, When as the Verse is plac'd between the Meeter.

a1626 J. Fletcher & W. Rowley Maid in Mill iv. iii. 18 in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Cccc1^v/1 A pretty toy we say, tis meetre to joy too.

1640 in T. Middleton Mad World, my Masters Ded. sig. A4 Consider (gentle Reader) it is full twenty yeares since it was written, at which time meetre was most in use, and shewed well upon the conclusion of every Act & Scene.

2. The ordered patterning of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse; metrical arrangement or method.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun]

rhymec1175

metrec1390

measurec1450

rhythm1656

mete1768

metric1883

c1390 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 3171 In prose eek been endited many oon, And eek in metre in many a sondry wise.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 196 After þe Inglis kynges, he [sc. Langtoft] says þer pris þat alle in metir fulle wele lys.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 35 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 96 I haue mekle mater in meter to gloss Of ane nother sentence.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 25^v I will recite the very wordes of Homere and also turne them into rude English metre.

1669 J. Milton Paradise Lost (new ed.) Verse sig. a3^v Rime being..the Invention of a barbarous Age, to set off wretched matter and lame Meeter [printed Meetet].

1779 S. Johnson Milton in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets II. 219 It is..by the musick of metre that poetry has been discriminated in all languages.

a1831 R. Whately Rhetoric in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 290 Then arrange this [prose] again into metre.

1860 G. P. Marsh Lect. Eng. Lang. xxv. 544 Metre may be defined to be a succession of poetical feet arranged in regular order, according to certain types recognized as standards, in verses of a determinate length.

1905 W. H. Cobb (title) A Criticism of Systems of Hebrew Metre.

1976 R. Pfeiffer Hist. Classical Scholarship 1300–1850 xii. 160 Bentley had led the way in the scholarly treatment of Greek and Latin metre, and Porson was the first to make a further substantial advance.

3. A metrical group or measure; spec. a dipody in iambic, trochaic, and anapaestic rhythms.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > metrical group or period

measure1706

period1837

metre1838

metron1948

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > metrical group or period > types of

syzygy1836

metre1838

dipody1844

monopody1844

tripody1883

1838 E. Guest Hist. Eng. Rhythms II. 431 The metrum, which may best dispute with the Asclepiad the honour of giving rise to the Alexandrine rhythmus, is the Trochaic Dimeter wanting half a metre.

1880 W. S. Rockstro in G. Grove Dict. Music II. 317/1 Two feet usually constitute a Metre (or Dipodia). But in Dactylic Verse, each foot is regarded as a complete Metre in itself.

1903 W. R. Hardie Lect. 210 Metres..are ‘lengths’ or ‘sections’ of rhythm, beginning in a certain way, either with ἅρσις or θέσις, and of a fixed length.

II. Extended uses.

†4. (a) Metrical composition; verse, poetry; (contextually) poor or doggerel verse. Obsolete (archaic in later use). (b) An instance of this; a verse or poem; (occasionally) a metrical version. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > [noun]

metrea1375

poesyc1390

Parnassusc1395

poetryc1395

versea1400

remailea1425

poesis1565

poetry1580

muse1651

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > [noun]

yedOE

metrea1375

dittya1387

poesya1387

poemc1487

indite1501

posy1575

metro1619

pomec1820

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > other types of poem > [noun] > metrical version

metrea1375

metro1619

versal1657

transversion1796

versification1821

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 5524 Þouȝh þe metur be nouȝt mad at eche mannes paye.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 489 Þis vers of metre..Dicentes E. vel A.

c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 562 Have hem now in thy legende al in mynde..Make the metres of hem as the lest.

c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 21 The vij^the metre of the v booke of Boecius.

c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) iv (MED) His metir suete, full of moralitee.

a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. I.ij To wryte workes, to make metres, to studie antiquitees.

1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Svi^v A meter of .iiii. verses in the Utopian tongue.

1577 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Chron. 31 Traiane..persuaded the Oratours to compounde many meetres to his praise.

1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health cciii. 171 According to that olde meeter, Distentus venter vellet dormire libenter.

1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 140 A certaine Lollard..composed certaine virulent meeters against this and other of the Religious orders.

1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick i. 5 There is an old Meeter..it containes many pithy Rules of the Theorick part of Musick..it begins thus: ‘To attaine the skill of Musicks Art, Learne Gam-ut up and down by heart.’

1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. (1843) 43 The english metre of the Psalms.

1755 R. Challoner Garden of Soul (new ed.) 137 After this is usually sung some psalm, or pious metre.

1794 W. Blake Clod & Pebble in Songs of Experience in Compl. Poetry & Prose (1982) 19 A Pebble of the brook, Warbled out these metres meet.

a1800 W. Cowper Ode to Apollo 3 Those luckless brains That..Indite much metre with much pains.

1858 W. E. Gladstone Stud. Homer III. 519 Here is another case of metre against history, and in all such cases history must go (as is said) to the wall.

†5. Greek Music. Metrics (see metrics n.). Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > study of poetry > [noun] > prosody > metrics

metric1480

rhythmic1603

stichology1737

metre1786

metrology1889

metrics1892

1786 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music Metre, that part of the ancient music which consulted the measure of the verses.

6. Music. The basic rhythmic pattern of beats in a piece of music (or part thereof), usually denoted at the beginning by a time signature; = measure n. 17a.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun]

proportiona1387

measurea1525

mode1561

casure1565

moodc1570

rhythm1576

rhyme1586

stotc1590

dimension1597

sextupla1597

timing1597

rhythmus1603

cadence1605

time1609

cadency1628

movement1683

lilt1841

metre1873

tempus1889

riddim1943

1873 H. C. Banister Music xxxiv. 170 Rhythm..or metre has to do with the symmetrical arrangement of music, with regard to time and accent.

1888 Bookseller 5 Sept. 920 Two-timed metre is identified with the octave or root, three-timed metre with the fifth, and four-timed metre—the last of the uncompounded metres..—is identified with the third.

1947 A. Einstein Music Romantic Era xvii. 320 Many of these dances show evidence of great age and uninterrupted tradition—the leaping dance (springar) in ¾ meter and the halling in duple meter.

1969 Rolling Stone 28 June 17/3 In those days country music was very loose in both meter and lyrics... No one had ever heard of a ninth chord.

1990 Opera Now May 83/4 Her obviously thorough preparation on more than one occasion helped singers less at home with Prokofiev's complex metres.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

† metre-ballad-monger n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 126 I had rather be a kitten and cry mew, Then one of these same miter [1623 Meeter] ballet mongers.

1839 Southern Literary Messenger 5 574 If the appellation of ‘poets’ were awarded to most of the metre-ballad-mongers, whose twattle has been thus resuscitated, we are right in the asseveration that the bays of poetic renown must, at no very distant period, have been of facile attainment.

† metre-maker n. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poet > [noun]

versifierc1340

poeta1382

metrera1387

sayer?a1400

makerc1460

metrician?a1475

metrist?1545

singer1560

swannetc1560

songster1584

muse1596

Castalianist1607

metre-maker1611

versificator1611

swan1613

versemaker1647

verseman1652

Parnassian1658

bard1667

factist1676

poetic1687

minstrel1718

shaper1816

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Rimoyeur, a rimer, a meeter-maker.

1789 T. Twining tr. Aristotle Treat. Poetry 167 A versifier—a metre-maker.

† metre-making n. and adj. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1844 R. W. Emerson Ess. 2nd Ser. i. 10 It is not metres, but a metre-making argument, that makes a poem.

metre-monger n.

ΚΠ

1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. D^v An olde mechanical meeter-munger would faine raile, if he had anie witte.

1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World III. x. sig. Bb The most Famous of these Meter-mongers were Robbin Hadwood, my Gaffer Glaskirion, and of late years old Farmer Davy.

1852 G. Daniel Democritus in London iv. 61 A tavern nigh just caught the eye of this poor metre-monger.

1901 F. L. Knowles On Life's Stairway 22 Still, while the metre-mongers haunt the shades, Fame crowns the Golden Gate and Palisades.

C2.

† metre psalm n. Obsolete a biblical psalm translated in verse.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > church music > psalm > kinds of psalm > metrical > [noun]

jig1570

metre psalm1656

1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. Pref. sig. a^v Where your Meeter-Psalms?

1863 J. L. W. By-gone Days 102 Those beautiful Metre Psalms first versified by Francis Rous, an Englishman.

1892 Catholic World July 486 Metre psalm-singing is an abomination.

† metre-verse n. Obsolete a metrical verse.

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxix. 366 Ær monegum gearum be his [sc. Cuthbert's] life & mægenum we genyhtsumlice awriton, ge meterfersum ge geradre spræce.

OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. iii. 104 Eall swylce sum getyd wer sitte and sum meteruers mid his feðere awrite.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

metremetern.²

Brit.

/ˈmiːtə/, U.S.

/ˈmidər/

Forms: 1700s– metre, 1800s– meter (chiefly U.S.), 1800s– mètre.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Greek. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Greek μέτρον; French mètre.

Etymology: < ancient Greek μέτρον measure (see metre n.¹), in sense 2 via French mètre (1791 in this sense).

†1. Proposed for: a unit of capacity equal to ¹/ ₁₀₀₀ bushel. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1790 T. Jefferson Final Rep. Weights & Meas. 4 July in Papers (1961) XVI. 664 Measures of Capacity... Let the bushel be divided into 10. pottles; each pottle into 10. demi-pints; Each demi-pint into 10. metres, which will be of a cubic inch each.

1791 T. Jefferson Postscript to Rep. Weights & Meas. 10 Jan. in Papers (1961) XVI. 675 The thousandth part of this error (about one ten millionth of a foot) consequently fell on the metre of measure, the ounce weight, and the unit of money.

2. The fundamental unit of length of the metric system, now (as an SI unit) defined as equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 second, and approximately equal to 39.37 inches. Symbol m.Originally intended to represent one ten-millionth of the length of a quadrant of the meridian, and defined by reference to a platinum-iridium standard kept in Paris. Later defined in terms of the wavelength (605.8 nanometres) of a particular orange line in the spectrum of krypton (see quot. 1970).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > metre

metre1797

1797 Monthly Mag. 3 434 The measures of length above the metre are ten times [etc.]..greater than the metre.

1801 W. Dupré Lexicographia-neologica Gallica 131 Hectomètre..in the long measure of the new republican division, is equal to one hundred metres.

1831 Jrnl. Royal Inst. Great Brit. 1 599 M. Francœur..has found that the mètre is equal to 39·37079 English inches.

1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. iii. 20 This metre, like all other standards of length, is an arbitrary length.

1873 Young Englishwoman Apr. 202/1 A dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs.

1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 442 We may assume..that it would fall through 10 meters in .3·63 seconds.

1885 Times (Weekly ed.) 2 Oct. 17/7 Houses, costing..only £10 per cubic mètre.

1928 Observer 15 Apr. 29/5 The 12-metre yachts..can be sailed efficiently with four paid hands.

1955 R. Bannister First Four Minutes vi. 59 To win the 100 and 200 metre titles in the World Student Games.

1961 Nature 21 Jan. 195/1 The eleventh General Conference of Weights and Measures was held in Paris during October 11–20... One epoch-making scientific decision was taken, namely, to redefine the metre in terms of a natural atomic standard, the wave~length of light, thus deposing the platinum–iridium bar—the International Prototype Metre—from the supremacy it has held in the field of length measurements since 1889.

1970 Internat. System of Units (B.S.I.) 5 The metre is the length equal to 1 650 763·73 wavelengths in vacuum of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the levels 2p₁₀ and 5d₅ of the krypton-86 atom. (11th CGPM (1960), Resolution 6.)

1988 J. C. Bell et al. Zoonoses 70 The presence of the large tapeworm, 3 to 10 metres long, in the intestine can cause mechanical obstruction.

1995 D. W. Smith & K. K. Rusch Escape ix. 98 Her purple shoes had pointy bases an eighth of a meter high.

Compounds

metre-angle n. [after German Meterwinkel (A. Nagel in A. Graefe and T. Saemisch Handb. der gesammten Augenheilkunde (1880) VI. x. 479)] Optics a unit of convergence equal to the angle between the line of sight of either eye and the median line passing between them when they are focused on a point on that line one metre away.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > [noun] > metre-angle

metre-angle1886

1886 C. M. Culver tr. E. Landolt Refraction & Accomm. of Eye ii. 187 We are indebted to Nagel for the ingenious idea of rendering the mensuration of convergence so simple and..so practical. He calls this unit-angle the ‘Meterwinkel’ metre-angle.

1949 H. C. Weston Sight, Light & Efficiency i. 27 The value of the metre-angle depends on the distance apart of the two eyes, but is commonly equal to about 1·75°.

1964 S. Duke-Elder Parsons' Dis. Eye (ed. 14) xxviii. 455 With an emmetropic person the amount of convergence, reckoned in metre angles, is the same as the amount of accommodation reckoned in dioptres.

1983 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. 73 332/1 Accommodation is said to be appropriate when the accommodation in diopters equals the convergence in meter-angles.

metre-candle n. Science = lux n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > light > illumination > [noun] > unit of illumination > candela > lux

lux1889

metre-candle1899

1899 Science 10 Mar. 368/1 The minimum intensity inducing phototaxis was, in the more sensitive Daphnia, 0.002 candle power at a distance of 3.5 meters, or..0.00016 meter candles.

1915 R. A. Houstoun Treat. Light xx. 362 It is often necessary to measure in foot-candles or metre-candles the degree of illumination of a surface.

1939 A. W. Barton Text Bk. Light ix. 197 A metre-candle is equal to a lumen per square metre,..so that there are 10,000 metre-candles in a phot.

1970 M. V. Klein Optics iv. 126 Lux are also called meter-candles.

metre-gauge n. a gauge of railway line in which the rails are one metre apart; usually attributive.

ΚΠ

1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Mar. 6/1 The Government of India has adopted the metre gauge for all the new branches of the various State railways.

1891 R. Kipling City Dreadful Night 78 The trucks were unloaded into the waggons of the metre-gauge colliery line in this wise.

1956 Railway Mag. Nov. 762 (caption) Special train..about to leave St. Brieuc for Paimpol, on the metre-gauge Chemin de Fer des Cotes du Nord.

1984 C. Garratt Brit. Steam Lives! iii. 41 In common with her 0-4-0 relatives, she works the factory connection with the metre-gauge main line of Indian Railways—the plantations proper being built to a gauge of 2ft 6in.

† metre-gram n. Science Obsolete the amount of energy required to raise one gram through a height of one metre.

ΚΠ

1868 J. L. Clark Elem. Treat. Electr. Measurem. 45 The conventional unit of work W ordinarily employed in metrical measure..is called the metre-gramme unit.

1898 Philos. Trans. 1897 (Royal. Soc.) A. 190 412 Expressed in metre-grammes and the centigrade unit of heat this last value becomes 426·58.

† metre-gram-second adj. Science Obsolete designating or relating to a system of measurement in which the base units of length, mass, and time are respectively the metre, the gram, and the second (superseded by the centimetre-gram-second and metre-kilogram-second systems).

ΚΠ

1866 J. C. Maxwell in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 156 258 This, when reduced to metre-gramme-second measure, is [etc.].

1876 Philos. Trans. 1875 (Royal Soc.) 165 381 Disturbances of horizontal force exceeding ·00334 (metre-gramme-second) units of force.

metre-kilogram-second adj. Science designating or relating to a system of measurement in which the base units of length, mass, and time are respectively the metre, the kilogram, and the second, and which was taken as the basis of the International System of Units; abbreviated MKS, mks.

ΚΠ

1888 Proc. Physical Soc. 10 41 To find J in the metre-kilogram-second gravitational system, where it is given in the British gravitational system.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 544/1 Metre-kilogramme-second (M-K-S) system of units.

1943 H. B. Lemon & M. Ference Analyt. Exper. Physics ii. 38/1 Recently adopted by an international congress as the official system of metric units is the meter-kilogram-second (MKS) system.

1963 Listener 24 Jan. 156/1 The metre-kilogram-second system has been preferred by the Institute of Electrical Engineers.

1992 Technol. & Learning Jan. 10 Despite the laudable use of the metre-kilogram-second version of the metric system, many parameters are consistently displayed in numerical form without appropriate units.

† metre-seven n. Science Obsolete the quantity 10⁷ (ten million) metres.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > metre > ten million metres

metre-seven1873

1873 Rep. Brit. Assoc. 224 The approximate length of a quadrant of one of the earth's meridians is a metre-seven or a centimetre-nine.

† metre-ton n. Engineering Obsolete the amount of energy required to raise a ton through a height of one metre.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > specific quantities or units of energy or work

horsepower1806

foot-pound1847

foot-ton1860

kilogrammetre1866

erg1873

kilerg1873

indicated horsepower1881

metre-ton1881

joule1882

watt-hour1888

manpower1893

horsepower-hour1899

horse1904

1881 W. Thomson in Nature No. 619. 434 Ideal water-wheels..would give just one metre-ton per square metre of area.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

metremeterv.

Brit.

/ˈmiːtə/, U.S.

/ˈmidər/

Forms: late Middle English–1600s meetre, late Middle English– metre, 1500s metyr, 1500s mitre, 1500s–1600s meeter, 1900s– meter; also Scottish pre-1700 meitter.

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: metre n.¹

Etymology: < metre n.¹ Compare slightly earlier metrer n.

Now rare.

†1. intransitive. To compose verses; to versify. Also transitive with it. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > compose poetry [verb (intransitive)]

versec1000

rhymec1300

versify1377

makea1387

metrea1415

poetizea1586

compose1602

poetrize1602

sing1638

rhythm1655

poeticize1817

poesy1820

rune1832

a1415 T. Hoccleve Balade Duke of York l. 48 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 50 If þat I in my wrytynge foleye..Meetrynge amis, or speke vnfittyngly.

?a1425 Constit. Masonry (Royal 17 A.i) l. 569 in J. O. Halliwell Early Hist. Freemasonry in Eng. (1844) 33 Rethoryk metryth with orne speche amonge.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 635/2 Many a man can ryme well, but it is harde to metyr well.

1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. G2^v Yea, rather than faile, Maister Bird shall..meeter it mischieuously in maintenance of their scurrilitiship and ruditie.

1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) ii. vi. 117 He..thus merrily Meeterd.

2. transitive. To compose in or put into metrical form.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > put into metre [verb (transitive)]

metre1447

metrificate?a1475

measurec1475

metrifyc1487

metrize1572

cadence1748

ringle-jingle1913

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 2012 ‘Of þe weddynge dytees,’ metryd coryously.

1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Collingbourne x They murdred me for metryng thinges amys.

1587 R. Holinshed et al. Hist. Scotl. (new ed.) 214/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II One Henrie, who was blind from his birth,..composed a whole booke in vulgar verse, in which he mitred all those things vulgarlie spoken of this Wallase.

1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians I. xviii. 126 Perfectly metred, but without rhyme.

1858 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. Sc. Life 1st Ser. (ed. 7) 174 Jean said she thought David hadna taen much pains when he metred the Psalms.

a1930 R. Bridges Coll. Ess. (1933) XV. 88 I was delighted to find that the old difficulty of metering it had vanished.

Derivatives

† metring n. Obsolete rare versification.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > [noun] > art or practice of poetry

poesyc1390

makinga1393

rhymingc1405

metringc1425

metrificationc1450

versifyingc1450

rhythming1582

poetrya1586

versinga1586

metredom1592

versification1603

the gay science1693

versemanship1762

rhymery1822

bard-craft1840

poeticism1847

poetism1848

poetics1851

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. 3491 For in metring þouȝ þer be ignoraunce, Ȝet in þe story ȝe may fynde plesaunce.

c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 5314 (margin) In regarde of sutile & crafty metryng als in many places accordyng or filowyng litterae [perh. read litterate] or swylk other.

1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xxviii. 250 Such of the liberall artes are employed, which belong to the cultiuating mans voyce; as Rhetorike, meetering, and singing.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

n.¹eOE

n.²1790

v.a1415

单词	metre
释义	metremetern.¹ Brit. /ˈmiːtə/, U.S. /ˈmidər/ Forms: Old English– meter (now chiefly U.S.), Middle English metir, Middle English metire, Middle English metur, Middle English metyre, Middle English myture, Middle English–1500s metyr, Middle English–1500s mytar, Middle English–1600s meetre, Middle English–1700s meeter, Middle English– metre, 1500s myter, 1500s mytre, 1500s–1600s miter, 1600s metar, 1700s meteer; Scottish pre-1700 meater, pre-1700 meeter, pre-1700 meetre, pre-1700 meetter, pre-1700 meiter, pre-1700 meitir, pre-1700 meitter, pre-1700 meter, pre-1700 metere, pre-1700 meteyr, pre-1700 metire, pre-1700 metter, pre-1700 mettere, pre-1700 metyr, pre-1700 metyre, pre-1700 miter, pre-1700 mitre, pre-1700 1700s– pre-1700 metre, 1900s– metir. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin metrum; French metre. Etymology: Partly < classical Latin metrum poetic metre, a vessel or other object used for measuring (in post-classical Latin also ‘type of metre, line of verse, poem’ (2nd–3rd cent.)) < ancient Greek μέτρον poetic metre, measure, rule, length, size < an extended form of an Indo-European base meaning ‘to measure’ (see meal n.²), and partly a reborrowing in Middle English < its reflex Anglo-Norman and Middle French metre (end of the 12th cent. in Old French; French mètre). Compare Italian metro (a1375), Spanish metro (1449), Portuguese metro (16th cent.), Old High German mētar, mēter.With metre royal at sense 1b compare rhythm royal n. and discussion at that entry. I. Poetic rhythm; a technique or arrangement by which this is achieved. 1. a. Any specific form of poetic rhythm, its kind being determined by the character and number of recurring units of rhythm (esp. feet) within the verse. Frequently with modifying word.This sense also occurs spec. in the names of certain characteristic forms of verse used in English hymns, such as common metre n., long metre n., short metre n. peculiar (also proper) metre n. a metre used only in a particular hymn, or at least not identical with any of the metres having recognized names (abbreviated P.M.). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > variety of metreOE measurec1450 society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > variety of > metre used only for particular hymn peculiar (also proper) metreOE P.M.1764 OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Otho) v. Concl. 484 Þæs halgan fæder lif & muneces somed & bisceopes Sancte Cuþbertes ærest eroico metere..ic awrat... Ymenbec misenlice metre. Boc epigrammatum eroico metre. OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) i. iii. 48 Þas þing he to gerihte and mid leoðlicum metre be þam monðum þus giddode. c1390 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 48 Chaucer, thogh he kan but lewedly On metres, and on rymyng craftily. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 377 Formatus, the poete..drawede the gestes of Seynte Martyne..in metre heroicalle. 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 91 Whyche thre [verses] are of dyuerse metre from the tother. 1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 6 Bothe in matter, myter, and meaninge, yt must needes gather corruptione, passinge throughe so manye handes. 1609 T. Heywood Troia Britanica viii. ii. 170 Greeke Pindarus, whose meeters made men dote. 1657 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer (1661) 361 They used all decent and grave variety of rhymes and Meeters in their Hymns and Psalms. 1749 J. Mason Ess. Power & Harmony Prosaic Numbers 74 To one or other of which [three Measures] (however various be the Metre) almost all kinds of English Verse may be reduced. 1798 Select. Psalms & Hymns Hymn vii. Pec. M. 1798 Select. Psalms & Hymns Hymn x. Prop. M. 1798 Select. Psalms & Hymns Hymn xxii. Pecul. Metre. 1863 Ld. Tennyson Hendecasyllabics in Cornhill Mag. Dec. 708 All composed in a metre of Catullus. 1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. xii. 250 Poetry employs words in fixed rhythms, which we call metres. 1945 E. K. Chambers Eng. Lit. at Close of Middle Ages i. 25 The metre of the Chester plays..is a Romance metre of the type known as rime couée or tail-rhyme. 1981 G. S. Fraser Short Hist. Eng. Poetry i. 2 The metre of Michael Alexander's rendering is likely to strike most readers as easy and pleasant to read but not the metre they are most accustomed to. †b. metre royal: = rhyme royal n. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > [noun] > rhyme royal ballade royala1450 metre royal1548 rhythm royal1575 rhyme royal1827 1548 W. Forrest in T. Starkey Eng. in Reign Henry VIII (1878) i. p. lxxxiii A notable warke..composed of late in meatre royall by..sir William forrest preeiste. 1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 73 A ioyfull commendation of that season contayning 16. staues in meter Royall, beginning thus. †c. Rhyme. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > types of poem according to form > [noun] > rhyming poem rhymea1300 rhythm1567 metre1591 1591 J. Harington Briefe Apol. Poetrie in tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso sig. ¶viij^v For them that find fault with polysyllable meeter. a1612 J. Harington Epigrams (1618) iii. xliv. sig. K1 The Cadens falleth sweeter, When as the Verse is plac'd between the Meeter. a1626 J. Fletcher & W. Rowley Maid in Mill iv. iii. 18 in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Cccc1^v/1 A pretty toy we say, tis meetre to joy too. 1640 in T. Middleton Mad World, my Masters Ded. sig. A4 Consider (gentle Reader) it is full twenty yeares since it was written, at which time meetre was most in use, and shewed well upon the conclusion of every Act & Scene. 2. The ordered patterning of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse; metrical arrangement or method. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] rhymec1175 metrec1390 measurec1450 rhythm1656 mete1768 metric1883 c1390 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 3171 In prose eek been endited many oon, And eek in metre in many a sondry wise. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 196 After þe Inglis kynges, he [sc. Langtoft] says þer pris þat alle in metir fulle wele lys. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 35 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 96 I haue mekle mater in meter to gloss Of ane nother sentence. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 25^v I will recite the very wordes of Homere and also turne them into rude English metre. 1669 J. Milton Paradise Lost (new ed.) Verse sig. a3^v Rime being..the Invention of a barbarous Age, to set off wretched matter and lame Meeter [printed Meetet]. 1779 S. Johnson Milton in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets II. 219 It is..by the musick of metre that poetry has been discriminated in all languages. a1831 R. Whately Rhetoric in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 290 Then arrange this [prose] again into metre. 1860 G. P. Marsh Lect. Eng. Lang. xxv. 544 Metre may be defined to be a succession of poetical feet arranged in regular order, according to certain types recognized as standards, in verses of a determinate length. 1905 W. H. Cobb (title) A Criticism of Systems of Hebrew Metre. 1976 R. Pfeiffer Hist. Classical Scholarship 1300–1850 xii. 160 Bentley had led the way in the scholarly treatment of Greek and Latin metre, and Porson was the first to make a further substantial advance. 3. A metrical group or measure; spec. a dipody in iambic, trochaic, and anapaestic rhythms. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > metrical group or period measure1706 period1837 metre1838 metron1948 society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] > metrical group or period > types of syzygy1836 metre1838 dipody1844 monopody1844 tripody1883 1838 E. Guest Hist. Eng. Rhythms II. 431 The metrum, which may best dispute with the Asclepiad the honour of giving rise to the Alexandrine rhythmus, is the Trochaic Dimeter wanting half a metre. 1880 W. S. Rockstro in G. Grove Dict. Music II. 317/1 Two feet usually constitute a Metre (or Dipodia). But in Dactylic Verse, each foot is regarded as a complete Metre in itself. 1903 W. R. Hardie Lect. 210 Metres..are ‘lengths’ or ‘sections’ of rhythm, beginning in a certain way, either with ἅρσις or θέσις, and of a fixed length. II. Extended uses. †4. (a) Metrical composition; verse, poetry; (contextually) poor or doggerel verse. Obsolete (archaic in later use). (b) An instance of this; a verse or poem; (occasionally) a metrical version. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > [noun] metrea1375 poesyc1390 Parnassusc1395 poetryc1395 versea1400 remailea1425 poesis1565 poetry1580 muse1651 society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > [noun] yedOE metrea1375 dittya1387 poesya1387 poemc1487 indite1501 posy1575 metro1619 pomec1820 society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > other types of poem > [noun] > metrical version metrea1375 metro1619 versal1657 transversion1796 versification1821 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 5524 Þouȝh þe metur be nouȝt mad at eche mannes paye. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 489 Þis vers of metre..Dicentes E. vel A. c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 562 Have hem now in thy legende al in mynde..Make the metres of hem as the lest. c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 21 The vij^the metre of the v booke of Boecius. c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) iv (MED) His metir suete, full of moralitee. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. I.ij To wryte workes, to make metres, to studie antiquitees. 1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Svi^v A meter of .iiii. verses in the Utopian tongue. 1577 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Chron. 31 Traiane..persuaded the Oratours to compounde many meetres to his praise. 1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health cciii. 171 According to that olde meeter, Distentus venter vellet dormire libenter. 1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 140 A certaine Lollard..composed certaine virulent meeters against this and other of the Religious orders. 1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick i. 5 There is an old Meeter..it containes many pithy Rules of the Theorick part of Musick..it begins thus: ‘To attaine the skill of Musicks Art, Learne Gam-ut up and down by heart.’ 1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. (1843) 43 The english metre of the Psalms. 1755 R. Challoner Garden of Soul (new ed.) 137 After this is usually sung some psalm, or pious metre. 1794 W. Blake Clod & Pebble in Songs of Experience in Compl. Poetry & Prose (1982) 19 A Pebble of the brook, Warbled out these metres meet. a1800 W. Cowper Ode to Apollo 3 Those luckless brains That..Indite much metre with much pains. 1858 W. E. Gladstone Stud. Homer III. 519 Here is another case of metre against history, and in all such cases history must go (as is said) to the wall. †5. Greek Music. Metrics (see metrics n.). Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > study of poetry > [noun] > prosody > metrics metric1480 rhythmic1603 stichology1737 metre1786 metrology1889 metrics1892 1786 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music Metre, that part of the ancient music which consulted the measure of the verses. 6. Music. The basic rhythmic pattern of beats in a piece of music (or part thereof), usually denoted at the beginning by a time signature; = measure n. 17a. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun] proportiona1387 measurea1525 mode1561 casure1565 moodc1570 rhythm1576 rhyme1586 stotc1590 dimension1597 sextupla1597 timing1597 rhythmus1603 cadence1605 time1609 cadency1628 movement1683 lilt1841 metre1873 tempus1889 riddim1943 1873 H. C. Banister Music xxxiv. 170 Rhythm..or metre has to do with the symmetrical arrangement of music, with regard to time and accent. 1888 Bookseller 5 Sept. 920 Two-timed metre is identified with the octave or root, three-timed metre with the fifth, and four-timed metre—the last of the uncompounded metres..—is identified with the third. 1947 A. Einstein Music Romantic Era xvii. 320 Many of these dances show evidence of great age and uninterrupted tradition—the leaping dance (springar) in ¾ meter and the halling in duple meter. 1969 Rolling Stone 28 June 17/3 In those days country music was very loose in both meter and lyrics... No one had ever heard of a ninth chord. 1990 Opera Now May 83/4 Her obviously thorough preparation on more than one occasion helped singers less at home with Prokofiev's complex metres. Compounds C1. General attributive. † metre-ballad-monger n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. i. 126 I had rather be a kitten and cry mew, Then one of these same miter [1623 Meeter] ballet mongers. 1839 Southern Literary Messenger 5 574 If the appellation of ‘poets’ were awarded to most of the metre-ballad-mongers, whose twattle has been thus resuscitated, we are right in the asseveration that the bays of poetic renown must, at no very distant period, have been of facile attainment. † metre-maker n. Obsolete ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poet > [noun] versifierc1340 poeta1382 metrera1387 sayer?a1400 makerc1460 metrician?a1475 metrist?1545 singer1560 swannetc1560 songster1584 muse1596 Castalianist1607 metre-maker1611 versificator1611 swan1613 versemaker1647 verseman1652 Parnassian1658 bard1667 factist1676 poetic1687 minstrel1718 shaper1816 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Rimoyeur, a rimer, a meeter-maker. 1789 T. Twining tr. Aristotle Treat. Poetry 167 A versifier—a metre-maker. † metre-making n. and adj. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1844 R. W. Emerson Ess. 2nd Ser. i. 10 It is not metres, but a metre-making argument, that makes a poem. metre-monger n. ΚΠ 1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. D^v An olde mechanical meeter-munger would faine raile, if he had anie witte. 1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World III. x. sig. Bb The most Famous of these Meter-mongers were Robbin Hadwood, my Gaffer Glaskirion, and of late years old Farmer Davy. 1852 G. Daniel Democritus in London iv. 61 A tavern nigh just caught the eye of this poor metre-monger. 1901 F. L. Knowles On Life's Stairway 22 Still, while the metre-mongers haunt the shades, Fame crowns the Golden Gate and Palisades. C2. † metre psalm n. Obsolete a biblical psalm translated in verse. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > church music > psalm > kinds of psalm > metrical > [noun] jig1570 metre psalm1656 1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. Pref. sig. a^v Where your Meeter-Psalms? 1863 J. L. W. By-gone Days 102 Those beautiful Metre Psalms first versified by Francis Rous, an Englishman. 1892 Catholic World July 486 Metre psalm-singing is an abomination. † metre-verse n. Obsolete a metrical verse. ΚΠ eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxix. 366 Ær monegum gearum be his [sc. Cuthbert's] life & mægenum we genyhtsumlice awriton, ge meterfersum ge geradre spræce. OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. iii. 104 Eall swylce sum getyd wer sitte and sum meteruers mid his feðere awrite. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). metremetern.² Brit. /ˈmiːtə/, U.S. /ˈmidər/ Forms: 1700s– metre, 1800s– meter (chiefly U.S.), 1800s– mètre. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Greek. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Greek μέτρον; French mètre. Etymology: < ancient Greek μέτρον measure (see metre n.¹), in sense 2 via French mètre (1791 in this sense). †1. Proposed for: a unit of capacity equal to ¹/ ₁₀₀₀ bushel. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1790 T. Jefferson Final Rep. Weights & Meas. 4 July in Papers (1961) XVI. 664 Measures of Capacity... Let the bushel be divided into 10. pottles; each pottle into 10. demi-pints; Each demi-pint into 10. metres, which will be of a cubic inch each. 1791 T. Jefferson Postscript to Rep. Weights & Meas. 10 Jan. in Papers (1961) XVI. 675 The thousandth part of this error (about one ten millionth of a foot) consequently fell on the metre of measure, the ounce weight, and the unit of money. 2. The fundamental unit of length of the metric system, now (as an SI unit) defined as equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 second, and approximately equal to 39.37 inches. Symbol m.Originally intended to represent one ten-millionth of the length of a quadrant of the meridian, and defined by reference to a platinum-iridium standard kept in Paris. Later defined in terms of the wavelength (605.8 nanometres) of a particular orange line in the spectrum of krypton (see quot. 1970). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > metre metre1797 1797 Monthly Mag. 3 434 The measures of length above the metre are ten times [etc.]..greater than the metre. 1801 W. Dupré Lexicographia-neologica Gallica 131 Hectomètre..in the long measure of the new republican division, is equal to one hundred metres. 1831 Jrnl. Royal Inst. Great Brit. 1 599 M. Francœur..has found that the mètre is equal to 39·37079 English inches. 1866 H. E. Roscoe Lessons Elem. Chem. iii. 20 This metre, like all other standards of length, is an arbitrary length. 1873 Young Englishwoman Apr. 202/1 A dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs. 1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 442 We may assume..that it would fall through 10 meters in .3·63 seconds. 1885 Times (Weekly ed.) 2 Oct. 17/7 Houses, costing..only £10 per cubic mètre. 1928 Observer 15 Apr. 29/5 The 12-metre yachts..can be sailed efficiently with four paid hands. 1955 R. Bannister First Four Minutes vi. 59 To win the 100 and 200 metre titles in the World Student Games. 1961 Nature 21 Jan. 195/1 The eleventh General Conference of Weights and Measures was held in Paris during October 11–20... One epoch-making scientific decision was taken, namely, to redefine the metre in terms of a natural atomic standard, the wave~length of light, thus deposing the platinum–iridium bar—the International Prototype Metre—from the supremacy it has held in the field of length measurements since 1889. 1970 Internat. System of Units (B.S.I.) 5 The metre is the length equal to 1 650 763·73 wavelengths in vacuum of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the levels 2p₁₀ and 5d₅ of the krypton-86 atom. (11th CGPM (1960), Resolution 6.) 1988 J. C. Bell et al. Zoonoses 70 The presence of the large tapeworm, 3 to 10 metres long, in the intestine can cause mechanical obstruction. 1995 D. W. Smith & K. K. Rusch Escape ix. 98 Her purple shoes had pointy bases an eighth of a meter high. Compounds metre-angle n. [after German Meterwinkel (A. Nagel in A. Graefe and T. Saemisch Handb. der gesammten Augenheilkunde (1880) VI. x. 479)] Optics a unit of convergence equal to the angle between the line of sight of either eye and the median line passing between them when they are focused on a point on that line one metre away. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > [noun] > metre-angle metre-angle1886 1886 C. M. Culver tr. E. Landolt Refraction & Accomm. of Eye ii. 187 We are indebted to Nagel for the ingenious idea of rendering the mensuration of convergence so simple and..so practical. He calls this unit-angle the ‘Meterwinkel’ metre-angle. 1949 H. C. Weston Sight, Light & Efficiency i. 27 The value of the metre-angle depends on the distance apart of the two eyes, but is commonly equal to about 1·75°. 1964 S. Duke-Elder Parsons' Dis. Eye (ed. 14) xxviii. 455 With an emmetropic person the amount of convergence, reckoned in metre angles, is the same as the amount of accommodation reckoned in dioptres. 1983 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. 73 332/1 Accommodation is said to be appropriate when the accommodation in diopters equals the convergence in meter-angles. metre-candle n. Science = lux n. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > light > illumination > [noun] > unit of illumination > candela > lux lux1889 metre-candle1899 1899 Science 10 Mar. 368/1 The minimum intensity inducing phototaxis was, in the more sensitive Daphnia, 0.002 candle power at a distance of 3.5 meters, or..0.00016 meter candles. 1915 R. A. Houstoun Treat. Light xx. 362 It is often necessary to measure in foot-candles or metre-candles the degree of illumination of a surface. 1939 A. W. Barton Text Bk. Light ix. 197 A metre-candle is equal to a lumen per square metre,..so that there are 10,000 metre-candles in a phot. 1970 M. V. Klein Optics iv. 126 Lux are also called meter-candles. metre-gauge n. a gauge of railway line in which the rails are one metre apart; usually attributive. ΚΠ 1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Mar. 6/1 The Government of India has adopted the metre gauge for all the new branches of the various State railways. 1891 R. Kipling City Dreadful Night 78 The trucks were unloaded into the waggons of the metre-gauge colliery line in this wise. 1956 Railway Mag. Nov. 762 (caption) Special train..about to leave St. Brieuc for Paimpol, on the metre-gauge Chemin de Fer des Cotes du Nord. 1984 C. Garratt Brit. Steam Lives! iii. 41 In common with her 0-4-0 relatives, she works the factory connection with the metre-gauge main line of Indian Railways—the plantations proper being built to a gauge of 2ft 6in. † metre-gram n. Science Obsolete the amount of energy required to raise one gram through a height of one metre. ΚΠ 1868 J. L. Clark Elem. Treat. Electr. Measurem. 45 The conventional unit of work W ordinarily employed in metrical measure..is called the metre-gramme unit. 1898 Philos. Trans. 1897 (Royal. Soc.) A. 190 412 Expressed in metre-grammes and the centigrade unit of heat this last value becomes 426·58. † metre-gram-second adj. Science Obsolete designating or relating to a system of measurement in which the base units of length, mass, and time are respectively the metre, the gram, and the second (superseded by the centimetre-gram-second and metre-kilogram-second systems). ΚΠ 1866 J. C. Maxwell in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 156 258 This, when reduced to metre-gramme-second measure, is [etc.]. 1876 Philos. Trans. 1875 (Royal Soc.) 165 381 Disturbances of horizontal force exceeding ·00334 (metre-gramme-second) units of force. metre-kilogram-second adj. Science designating or relating to a system of measurement in which the base units of length, mass, and time are respectively the metre, the kilogram, and the second, and which was taken as the basis of the International System of Units; abbreviated MKS, mks. ΚΠ 1888 Proc. Physical Soc. 10 41 To find J in the metre-kilogram-second gravitational system, where it is given in the British gravitational system. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 544/1 Metre-kilogramme-second (M-K-S) system of units. 1943 H. B. Lemon & M. Ference Analyt. Exper. Physics ii. 38/1 Recently adopted by an international congress as the official system of metric units is the meter-kilogram-second (MKS) system. 1963 Listener 24 Jan. 156/1 The metre-kilogram-second system has been preferred by the Institute of Electrical Engineers. 1992 Technol. & Learning Jan. 10 Despite the laudable use of the metre-kilogram-second version of the metric system, many parameters are consistently displayed in numerical form without appropriate units. † metre-seven n. Science Obsolete the quantity 10⁷ (ten million) metres. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > metre > ten million metres metre-seven1873 1873 Rep. Brit. Assoc. 224 The approximate length of a quadrant of one of the earth's meridians is a metre-seven or a centimetre-nine. † metre-ton n. Engineering Obsolete the amount of energy required to raise a ton through a height of one metre. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > specific quantities or units of energy or work horsepower1806 foot-pound1847 foot-ton1860 kilogrammetre1866 erg1873 kilerg1873 indicated horsepower1881 metre-ton1881 joule1882 watt-hour1888 manpower1893 horsepower-hour1899 horse1904 1881 W. Thomson in Nature No. 619. 434 Ideal water-wheels..would give just one metre-ton per square metre of area. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). metremeterv. Brit. /ˈmiːtə/, U.S. /ˈmidər/ Forms: late Middle English–1600s meetre, late Middle English– metre, 1500s metyr, 1500s mitre, 1500s–1600s meeter, 1900s– meter; also Scottish pre-1700 meitter. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: metre n.¹ Etymology: < metre n.¹ Compare slightly earlier metrer n. Now rare. †1. intransitive. To compose verses; to versify. Also transitive with it. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > compose poetry [verb (intransitive)] versec1000 rhymec1300 versify1377 makea1387 metrea1415 poetizea1586 compose1602 poetrize1602 sing1638 rhythm1655 poeticize1817 poesy1820 rune1832 a1415 T. Hoccleve Balade Duke of York l. 48 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 50 If þat I in my wrytynge foleye..Meetrynge amis, or speke vnfittyngly. ?a1425 Constit. Masonry (Royal 17 A.i) l. 569 in J. O. Halliwell Early Hist. Freemasonry in Eng. (1844) 33 Rethoryk metryth with orne speche amonge. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 635/2 Many a man can ryme well, but it is harde to metyr well. 1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. G2^v Yea, rather than faile, Maister Bird shall..meeter it mischieuously in maintenance of their scurrilitiship and ruditie. 1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) ii. vi. 117 He..thus merrily Meeterd. 2. transitive. To compose in or put into metrical form. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > put into metre [verb (transitive)] metre1447 metrificate?a1475 measurec1475 metrifyc1487 metrize1572 cadence1748 ringle-jingle1913 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 2012 ‘Of þe weddynge dytees,’ metryd coryously. 1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Collingbourne x They murdred me for metryng thinges amys. 1587 R. Holinshed et al. Hist. Scotl. (new ed.) 214/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II One Henrie, who was blind from his birth,..composed a whole booke in vulgar verse, in which he mitred all those things vulgarlie spoken of this Wallase. 1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians I. xviii. 126 Perfectly metred, but without rhyme. 1858 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. Sc. Life 1st Ser. (ed. 7) 174 Jean said she thought David hadna taen much pains when he metred the Psalms. a1930 R. Bridges Coll. Ess. (1933) XV. 88 I was delighted to find that the old difficulty of metering it had vanished. Derivatives † metring n. Obsolete rare versification. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > [noun] > art or practice of poetry poesyc1390 makinga1393 rhymingc1405 metringc1425 metrificationc1450 versifyingc1450 rhythming1582 poetrya1586 versinga1586 metredom1592 versification1603 the gay science1693 versemanship1762 rhymery1822 bard-craft1840 poeticism1847 poetism1848 poetics1851 poetics1851 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. 3491 For in metring þouȝ þer be ignoraunce, Ȝet in þe story ȝe may fynde plesaunce. c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 5314 (margin) In regarde of sutile & crafty metryng als in many places accordyng or filowyng litterae [perh. read litterate] or swylk other. 1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xxviii. 250 Such of the liberall artes are employed, which belong to the cultiuating mans voyce; as Rhetorike, meetering, and singing. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹eOEn.²1790v.a1415
随便看	master motive master note master number master of art master of arts master of assay master of beagles master of buckhounds master of ceremonies master of chancery master of chivalry master of divinity master of faculties master of foxhounds master of game master of glomery master of harriers master of horses master of medicine master of philosophy master of physic master of pruce master of pruceland master of request master of requests

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