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Meter

//ˈmitəɹ// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A device that measures things. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    US standard spelling of metre (“unit of measure”). US, alt-of, countable, standard, uncountable

    "No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years — just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. That’s why a recent arboreal discovery nearly 20 feet (6 meters) beneath the ground caught researchers’ attention."

  3. 3
    US standard spelling of metre (“the rhythm or measure in language”). US, alt-of, countable, standard, uncountable
  4. 4
    any of various measuring instruments for measuring a quantity wordnet
  5. 5
    A device that measures things.; A parking meter or similar device for collecting payment. countable, uncountable

    "gas meter"

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    A poem. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "A meter of […]berses in the Utopian tongue"

  2. 7
    rhythm as given by division into parts of equal duration wordnet
  3. 8
    One who metes or measures. countable, dated, uncountable

    "a labouring coal-meter"

  4. 9
    (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse wordnet
  5. 10
    A line above or below a hanging net, to which the net is attached in order to strengthen it. US, countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards) wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To measure with a metering device.
  2. 2
    measure with a meter wordnet
  3. 3
    To imprint a postage mark with a postage meter.
  4. 4
    stamp with a meter indicating the postage wordnet
  5. 5
    To regulate the flow of or to deliver in regulated amounts (usually of fluids but sometimes of other things such as anticipation or breath).

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English metere (“one who measures, measurer”), perhaps (with change in suffix) from Old English metend (“one who measures or metes”), equivalent to mete (“to measure”) + -er. The transference from "person who measures" to "device that measures" was probably assisted by association with -meter, as in barometer, etc. Cognate with Scots mettar, metter (“meter, measurer”), Saterland Frisian Meter, Meeter (“measurer, measuring device, gauge”), West Frisian mjitter (“measurer”), Dutch meter (“measurer, gauge”), German Low German Meter (“measuring device, gauge”), German Messer (“measurer, measuring device, gauge”), Swedish mätare (“measurer”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English metere (“one who measures, measurer”), perhaps (with change in suffix) from Old English metend (“one who measures or metes”), equivalent to mete (“to measure”) + -er. The transference from "person who measures" to "device that measures" was probably assisted by association with -meter, as in barometer, etc. Cognate with Scots mettar, metter (“meter, measurer”), Saterland Frisian Meter, Meeter (“measurer, measuring device, gauge”), West Frisian mjitter (“measurer”), Dutch meter (“measurer, gauge”), German Low German Meter (“measuring device, gauge”), German Messer (“measurer, measuring device, gauge”), Swedish mätare (“measurer”).

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French mètre, itself borrowed from Latin metrum, borrowed from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron).

Etymology 4

From Middle English meter, metre, from Old English meter and Old French metre; both from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron).

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