English
meter
Meter comes from Middle English metere ‘one who measures, measurer’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500metere‘one who measures, measurer’
- Englishtodaymeter
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500metere‘one who measures, measurer’
- Englishtodaymeter
Formed from mete ‘to measure’ + -er
Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure, consider’
Proto-Germanic *metaną ‘to measure’
Proto-West Germanic *metan ‘to measure’
Old English metan ‘to measure, mete out, mark off, compare,…’
Middle English meten
English mete
The story
The transference from "person who measures" to "device that measures" was probably assisted by association with -meter, as in barometer, etc.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to measure’
month, moon, moral, measure, meal, sunny, dimensional, dimension, moody, immense, metric, metre, mesa, meta, menstrual, commensurate, asymmetry, mensa, madder, metrology, firman, moodiness, menses, metis, metra, 65 more
Another origin of meter
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-‘to measure’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέτρονmétron‘something used to measure: measure, rule, weight’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmetrum‘a measure’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmètre‘metre/meter’
- Englishtodaymeter
Another origin of meter
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meh₁-‘to measure’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμέτρονmétron‘something used to measure: measure, rule, weight’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmetrum‘a measure’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150meter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500meter
- Englishtodaymeter
Today it means
noun A device that measures things.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English metere / meter