metre

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: me=tre

CIDE DICTIONARY

metre, n. [OE. metre, F. mètre, L. metrum, fr. Gr. ; akin to Skr. mā to measure. See Mete to measure.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "The only strict antithesis to prose is meter."  [1913 Webster]
•  A poem.  Robynson (More's Utopia).  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

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.

metre, n. 

 See Meter.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

metre, n. (US meter) a metric unit and the base SI unit of linear measure, equal to about 39.4 inches, and reckoned as the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second.

Idiom

metre-kilogram-second denoting a system of measure using the metre, kilogram, and second as the basic units of length, mass, and time.

Usage

Abbr.: mks.

Derivative

metreage n.

metre, n. (US meter)
1 a any form of poetic rhythm, determined by the number and length of feet in a line. b a metrical group or measure.
2 the basic pulse and rhythm of a piece of music.

Etymology

OF metre f. L metrum f. Gk metron MEASURE