METRIC

adj. Me2t'ri2k. Gr., iierpiKos (from /ufrpov, a measure). Lat., metric us. Based on the metre as a unit of measurement. [a, 17.] M. system. A decimal system of weights and measures adopted in France in 1799 and subsequently in many other countries, and now generally recognized and employed as the most convenient for use in scientific investigation. The unit of the system is the metre (Fr., metre), a measure of length equivalent to 39'370 inches, designed to be (and being very nearly) the ten-millionth part of the distance from the pole to the equator as measured on the meridian of Paris. The decimal multiples of this and the other units are expre ed by the use of prefixes from the Greek, and the submultiplas by prefixes from the Latin. Thus, 10, 100, and 1,000 metres are designated, respectively, the decametre, hectometre, and kilometre (1,093'6 yards or 0*621 mile), while ^, Tfoj, and y^u of the metre are the decimetre, centimetre, and millimetre (0'03937 or about j^j of an inch). The thousandth part of the millimetre has been called the micron or micromillimetre. The unit of superficial measure is the are, a square having a side of a decametre, or 10 metres. It is equivalent to 119'60 yards, and the hectare is 2*471 acres. The unit of capacity is the litre, a cube having a side of a decimetre, or -fa of a metre. It is equivalent to 61'027 cubic inches, or 1'761 imperial pints. The unit of weight is the gramme, which is regarded as the thousandth part of the weight of a litre of distilled water at its maximum density. It is equivalent to 15*43235 grains troy, and the kilogramme is 15432'35 grains, or 2*2046 Ibs. av., the pound avoirdupois being 453*6 grammes, [a, 48.] [s. 773]