On Jul 17, 10:22=A0pm, ADPUF <flyhun...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> 18:31, gioved=EC 17 luglio 2008, Molly Mockford:
>
>
>
>
>
> > At 02:20:07 on Thu, 17 Jul 2008, ct
>
> >>According to every dictionary I have been able to find, the
> >>proper British spelling of "metre" ends in -re, whereas the
> >>proper British spelling of "perimeter" ends in -er.
>
> >>Is there any reasonable explanation for this inconsistency?
>
> > There are two entirely different words here. =A0"Metre", with an
> > -re, refers to a specific distance (100cm), which is
> > officially defined as
> > follows: =A0"The metre is the length of the path travelled by
> > light in
> > vacuum during a time interval of 1?299,792,458 of a second".
> > From this word come variants, such as kilometre for 1000
> > metres, centimeter for a
> > hundredth of a metre, etc. =A0(In American English, although
> > they do not tend to use metric measurements, they do tend to
> > mis-spell the word as "meter".)
>
> This word was created in the late Eighteenth century.
>
> From the greek "metron" measure.
>
>
>
>
>
> > "Meter", with an -er, refers to a measuring device, or to a
> > measurement
> > which is *not* confined to one specific distance (as with
> > metre). =A0A perimeter is the measured distance around the
> > outside of something; a gasometer is the large container which
> > holds (and measures) domestic gas
> > supplies; =A0a tachometer is the device in a lorry driver's cab
> > which
> > keeps track of his hours and mileage; =A0a parking meter shows
> > how much
> > time you have bought to leave your car there; =A0and your
> > electricity
> > meter shows how much power you have used. =A0There are many,
> > many such
> > words and phrases; =A0you might find it amusing to see how many
> > you can collect!
>
> These words, at least the oldest of them, were created centuries
> before "metre", so they changed the spelling in a way more
> close to its English pronunciation.
>
> In French and other languages they end with -metre, or similar,
> in German and in Slovenian they end like in English: -meter.
> (Italian -metro)
>
> --
> =B0=BF=B0- Hide quoted text -
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> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
The phenomena is not without parallel analogies.
Petrus, Pedro, and Peter. Saltpetre, petrified.
Molly is entirely correct for British and American English,
but I note there is no real discussion of the competing
linguistic factors which may have fuelled AmEng development
in this manner.
But yes, assuming you (OP) have some online access but not,
necessarily, equivalent access to reliable reference sources,
the general rule of thumb is that if it pertains to the SI (Systeme
Internationale, or "Metric") units of measurement then it is "-metre",
but if the pronomial in question is the device which does the
actual measuring then it is "meter".
One may measure a perimeter however one wishes, in inches,
feet, American Miles, Metres, Roman Miles, Imperial Miles,
centiMetres, nanoMetres, picoMetres, TeraMetres, whatever.
Molly may, however, be wrong concerning "tachometer".
Until recently these were, officially, called "tachographs"
and records were kept by way of a stylus marking a disc
rather like a the film memes of seismograph or flatbed plotter.
They now are known as "digital tachos". This is rather more
interesting than the willpower I can summon to look into it
right now this moprning but the American English for "speedometer"
is "odometer" and the nearest etymologically is "tachymeter"
which is actually the rev counter (rev =3D rpm =3D revolutions per
minute) for the engine and bears no relation to speed or
distance of motion.
The leaflets I have seen from the British Driver and Vehicle
Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Vehicle and Operator Standards
Agency (VOSA) only refer to tachos and digital tachos, which
is a continuation of the shortforms drivers and operators
themselves use (e.g., I don't ever recall using a tachograph disc,
only ever a tacho disc), so the extension to tachometer, albeit
one I have used myself, may not technically be accurate.
G DAEB
COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 SIPSTON
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