metre


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me·tre 1

 (mē′tər)
n. Chiefly British
Variant of meter1.

me·tre 2

 (mē′tər)
n. Chiefly British
Variant of meter2.

metre

(ˈmiːtə) or

meter

n
1. (Units) a metric unit of length equal to approximately 1.094 yards
2. (Units) the basic SI unit of length; the length of the path travelled by light in free space during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. In 1983 this definition replaced the previous one based on krypton-86, which in turn had replaced the definition based on the platinum-iridium metre bar kept in Paris
Symbol: m
[C18: from French; see metre2]

metre

(ˈmiːtə) or

meter

n
1. (Poetry) prosody the rhythmic arrangement of syllables in verse, usually according to the number and kind of feet in a line
2. (Music, other) music another word (esp US) for time22
[C14: from Latin metrum, from Greek metron measure]

me•ter1

(ˈmi tər)

n.
the base SI unit of length, equivalent to 39.37 U.S. inches; now defined as 1/299,792,458 of the distance light travels in a vacuum in one second. Abbr.: m
[1790–1800; < French mètre < Greek métron measure]

me•ter2

(ˈmi tər)

n.
1.
a. the rhythmic element in music as measured by division into parts of equal time value.
b. the unit of measurement, in terms of number of beats, adopted for a piece of music.
2.
a. the arrangement of words in rhythmic lines; poetic measure.
b. a particular rhythmic arrangement in a line, based on kind or kind and number of feet: dactylic meter.
c. rhythmic arrangement of stanzas or strophes, based on the kind and number of lines.
[before 900; Middle English metre, Old English meter < Latin metrum meter, verse < Greek métron measure]

me•ter3

(ˈmi tər)

n.
1. an instrument for measuring and recording the quantity of something, as of gas, water, miles, or time.
2. parking meter.
v.t.
3. to measure by means of a meter.
4. to process (mail) by means of a postage meter.
[1805–15; independent use of -meter,influenced in some senses by mete1]

-meter

a combining form meaning “measure,” used in the names of instruments measuring quantity, extent, degree, etc.: altimeter; barometer. Compare -metry.
[< New Latin -metrum < Greek métron measure]

metre

– meter
1. 'metre'

In British English, a metre is a unit of length equal to 39.37 inches.

The blue whale grows to over 30 metres long.
2. 'meter'

In American English, this word is spelled meter.

I stopped about fifty meters down the road.

In both British and American English, some kinds of measuring devices are also called meters.

...a parking meter.
He'd come to read the gas meter.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.metre - the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)metre - the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
m, meter
metric linear unit - a linear unit of distance in metric terms
decimeter, decimetre, dm - a metric unit of length equal to one tenth of a meter
decameter, decametre, dekameter, dekametre, dkm, dam - a metric unit of length equal to ten meters
2.metre - (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of versemetre - (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
cadence, meter, measure, beat
metrics, prosody - the study of poetic meter and the art of versification
poetic rhythm, rhythmic pattern, prosody - (prosody) a system of versification
catalexis - the absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or verse
scansion - analysis of verse into metrical patterns
common meter, common measure - the usual (iambic) meter of a ballad
metrical foot, metrical unit, foot - (prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm
3.metre - rhythm as given by division into parts of equal durationmetre - rhythm as given by division into parts of equal duration
meter, time
rhythmicity - the rhythmic property imparted by the accents and relative durations of notes in a piece of music
Translations
مِتْرمِتْرٌوزن، بَحْر من بُحور الشِّعْر
metrmetrum
meterversemål
metro
meeter
metri
मीटर
metar
meter
metribragarhátturfersentimetri
メートル
미터
metrspantmērs
metru
metermetrum
meter
meter
เมตร
mét

metre

meter (US) [ˈmiːtəʳ] N → metro m

metre

[ˈmiːtər] meter (US) n (= measurement) → mètre m

metre

, (US) meter
n
(Measure) → Meter m or nt
(Poet) → Metrum nt

metre

meter (Am) [ˈmiːtəʳ] n → metro

metre1

(American) meter (ˈmiːtə) noun
(often abbreviated m mwhen written) the chief unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 inches. This table is one metre broad.
metric (ˈmetrik) adjective
of the metre or metric system. Are these scales metric?
the metric system
a system of weights and measures based on multiples of ten (eg 1 metre = 100 centimetres, 1 centimetre = 10 millimetres etc).

metre2

(American) meter (ˈmiːtə) noun
(in poetry) the regular arrangement of syllables that are stressed or unstressed, long or short. The metre of this passage is typical of Shakespeare.
ˈmetrical (ˈme-) adjective
of or in poetry. The translation is not metrical – it is in prose.

metre

→ مِتْرٌ metr meter Meter μέτρο metro metri mètre metar metro メートル 미터 meter meter metr metro метр meter เมตร metre mét 米
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References in classic literature ?
For there is no common term we could apply to the mimes of Sophron and Xenarchus and the Socratic dialogues on the one hand; and, on the other, to poetic imitations in iambic, elegiac, or any similar metre.
There are, again, some arts which employ all the means above mentioned, namely, rhythm, tune, and metre.
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Langland wrote altogether in metre," he says, "but not after the manner of our rimers that write nowadays (for his verses end not alike), but the nature of his metre is to have three words, at the least, in every verse which begin with some one letter.
This thing being noted, the metre shall be very pleasant to read.
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So reconstructed, the earliest period appears to us as a time of slow development in which the characteristic epic metre, diction, and structure grew up slowly from crude elements and were improved until the verge of maturity was reached.
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Rhyme and metre and structure were serious enough in themselves, but there was, over and beyond them, an intangible and evasive something that he caught in all great poetry, but which he could not catch and imprison in his own.
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I followed the "Lady of the Lake" throughout, and when I first began to contrive verses of my own I found that poem a fit model in mood and metre.
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A curious, an erudite artist, certainly, he is to some extent an experimenter in rhyme or metre, often hazardous.
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For we do not speak now of men of poetical talents, or of industry and skill in metre, but of the true poet.
For it is not metres, but a metre-making argument that makes a poem,--a thought so passionate and alive that like the spirit of a plant or an animal it has an architecture of its own, and adorns nature with a new thing.
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The favourite metres of the T`ang poets were in lines of five or seven syllables.
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And Lacepede, the French naturalist, in his elaborate history of whales, in the very beginning of his work (page 3), sets down the Right Whale at one hundred metres, three hundred and twenty-eight feet.
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