Metre

== Spelling ==
[[File:Metric seal.svg|thumb|Seal of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) – Use measure (Greek: {{lang|grc|ΜΕΤΡΩ ΧΡΩ}})]]
''Metre'' is the standard spelling of the metric unit for length in nearly all English-speaking nations, the exceptions being the United States<ref>
{{cite web
 |url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.330-2019.pdf
 |title=The International System of Units (SI) – NIST
 |publisher=[[National Institute of Standards and Technology]]
 |location=US
 |date=26 March 2008
 |quote=The spelling of English words is in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual, which follows Webster's Third New International Dictionary rather than the Oxford Dictionary. Thus the spellings 'meter', 'liter', 'deka', and 'cesium' are used rather than 'metre', 'litre', 'deca', and 'caesium' as in the original BIPM English text.
}}</ref><ref>The most recent official brochure about the International System of Units (SI), written in French by the ''{{lang|fr|Bureau international des poids et mesures}}'', [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] (BIPM) uses the spelling ''metre''; an English translation, included to make the SI standard more widely accessible also uses the spelling ''metre'' ([[#bipm2006|BIPM, 2006]], p. 130''ff''). However, in 2008 the U.S. English translation published by the U.S. [[National Institute of Standards and Technology]] (NIST) chose to use the spelling ''meter'' in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual. The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 gives the Secretary of Commerce of the US the responsibility of interpreting or modifying the SI for use in the US. The Secretary of Commerce delegated this authority to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology ([[#turner|Turner]]). In 2008, NIST published the US version ([[#taylor2008a|Taylor and Thompson, 2008a]]) of the English text of the eighth edition of the BIPM publication ''{{lang|fr|Le Système international d'unités}} (SI)'' (BIPM, 2006). In the NIST publication, the spellings "meter", "liter" and "deka" are used rather than "metre", "litre" and "deca" as in the original BIPM English text ([[#taylor2008a|Taylor and Thompson (2008a), p. iii]]). The Director of the NIST officially recognised this publication, together with [[#taylor2008b|Taylor and Thompson (2008b)]], as the "legal interpretation" of the SI for the United States ([[#turner|Turner]]). Thus, the spelling ''metre'' is referred to as the "international spelling"; the spelling ''meter'', as the "American spelling".</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf
 |title=Spelling metre or meter
 |first=Pat |last=Naughtin
 |website=Metrication Matters
 |year=2008
 |access-date=2017-03-12
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011100154/http://www.metricationmatters.com/docs/Spelling_metre_or_meter.pdf
 |archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://grammarist.com/spelling/meter-metre/
 |title=Meter vs. metre
 |website=Grammarist
 |date=21 February 2011
 |access-date=2017-03-12
}}</ref> and the Philippines<ref>The Philippines uses [[Philippine English|English]] as an official language and this largely follows American English since the country became a colony of the United States. While the law that converted the country to use the [[metric system]] uses ''metre'' ([[#PH-BatasPambansa8|Batas Pambansa Blg. 8]]) following the SI spelling, in actual practice, ''meter'' is used in government and everyday commerce, as evidenced by laws (''kilometer'', [[#PH-RA7160|Republic Act No. 7160]]), Supreme Court decisions (''meter'',  [[#PH-GR185240|G.R. No. 185240]]), and national standards (''centimeter'', [[#PH-PNSBAFS181-2016|PNS/BAFS 181:2016]]).</ref> which use ''meter''.

Measuring devices (such as [[ammeter]], [[speedometer]]) are spelled "-meter" in all variants of English.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
 |url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?searchword=ammeter
 |title=Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
 |year=2008
 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]
 |access-date=2012-09-19
}}, s.v. ammeter, meter, parking meter, speedometer.</ref> The suffix "-meter" has the same Greek origin as the unit of length.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
 |title=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
 |edition=3rd
 |year=1992
 |location=Boston
 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
}}, s.v. meter.</ref><ref>
{{cite web
 |title=-meter – definition of -meter in English
 |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/-meter
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426153254/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/-meter
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=26 April 2017
 |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries
}}</ref>