METRE

meter, metre, time

(noun) rhythm as given by division into parts of equal duration

meter, metre, measure, beat, cadence

(noun) (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

meter, metre

(noun) the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d’Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Noun

metre (plural metres)

The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 seconds. The metre is equal to 39-47/127 (approximately 39.37) imperial inches.

Usage notes

• This, rather than meter, is the spelling adopted by both the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and the International Organization for Standardization in their English language texts. However the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual, has chosen to use meter.

Synonyms

• m

Verb

metre (third-person singular simple present metres, present participle metring, simple past and past participle metred)

(British, rare) Alternative spelling of meter

Usage notes

The standard spelling of the verb meaning to measure is meter throughout the English-speaking world. The use of the spelling metre for this sense (outside music and poetry) is possibly a misspelling.

Etymology 2

Noun

metre (plural metres) (British, Canada)

The rhythm or measure in verse and musical composition.

Verb

metre (third-person singular simple present metres, present participle metring, simple past and past participle metred)

(poetry, music) To put into metrical form.

Anagrams

• -meter, -treme, Emert, meter, remet, retem

Source: Wiktionary

Me"ter, Me"tre, n. Etym: [OE. metre, F. mètre, L. metrum, fr. Gr. ma to measure. See Mete to measure.]

1. Rhythmical arrangement of syllables or words into verses, stanzas, strophes, etc.; poetical measure, depending on number, quantity, and accent of syllables; rhythm; measure; verse; also, any specific rhythmical arrangements; as, the Horatian meters; a dactylic meter. The only strict antithesis to prose is meter. Wordsworth.

2. A poem. [Obs.] Robynson (More's Utopia).

3. A measure of length, equal to 39.37 English inches, the standard of linear measure in the metric system of weights and measures. It was intended to be, and is very nearly, the ten millionth part of the distance from the equator to the north pole, as ascertained by actual measurement of an arc of a meridian. See Metric system, under Metric. Common meter (Hymnol.), four iambic verses, or lines, making a stanza, the first and third having each four feet, and the second and fourth each three feet; -- usually indicated by the initials C.M.

– Long meter (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines of four feet each, four verses usually making a stanza; -- commonly indicated by the initials L.M.

– Short meter (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines, the first, second, and fourth having each three feet, and the third four feet. The stanza usually consists of four lines, but is sometimes doubled. Short meter is indicated by the initials S.M.

Me"tre, n.

Definition: See Meter.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition