Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary 1908/The Metric or French System

by Thomas Davidson

THE METRIC or FRENCH SYSTEM.

MEASURES OF LENGTH.

The MÈTRE, the unit of length, is the ten-millionth part of a line drawn from the Pole to the Equator.

1 Mètre	=	as above.
1 Décamètre	=	10	mètres.
1 Hectomètre	=	100	⁠"
1 Kilomètre	=	1000	⁠"
1 Myriamètre	=	10,000	⁠"

1 Decimètre	=	1⁄10th	of a mètre.
1 Centimètre	=	1⁄100th	⁠"
1 Millimètre	=	1⁄1000th	⁠"

The Greek prefixes (deca, hecto, kilo, myria) denote multiplication.

The Latin prefixes (deci, centi, milli) denote division.

SQUARE MEASURE.

The ARE, the unit of surface measure, is a square the side of which is ten mètres long.

1 Are	=	100	Square mètres.
1 Decare	=	10	ares.
1 Hectare	=	100	"

1 Déciare	=	1⁄10th	of an are.
1 Centiare	=	1⁄100th	of an are,
or, mètre carré (square mètre).

MEASURES OF WEIGHT.

The GRAMME, the unit of weight, is the weight of a cubic centimètre of distilled water at 4° Centigrade.

1 Gramme	=	as above.
1 Décagramme	=	10	gram.
1 Hectogramme	=	100	⁠"
1 Kilogramme, or kilo	=	1000	⁠"
1 Myriagramme	=	10,000	⁠"

1 Décigramme	=	1⁄10th	of a gram.
1 Centigramme	=	1⁄100th	⁠"
1 Milligramme	=	1⁄1000th	⁠"

½ kilogramme is called a livre.

MEASURES OF CAPACITY, DRY AND LIQUID.

The LITRE, the unit of the measures of capacity, dry and liquid, is the volume of a cubic decimètre.

1 Litre	=	as above.
1 Décalitre	=	10	litres.
1 Hectolitre	=	100	⁠"

1 Décilitre	=	1⁄10th	of a litre.
1 Centilitre	=	1⁄100th	⁠"
1 Millilitre	=	1⁄1000th	⁠"

MONEY.

1 Franc	=	100	centimes.
	A franc = 5 grammes
		(4.5 silver, and .5 alloy).

1 Décime	=	10	centimes.
1 Sou	=	5	⁠"

FRENCH LINEAL MEASURES, &c. = BRITISH.
French	British.
LINEAL.
Millimètre	0.0394 inch.
Centimètre	0.3937   "⁠or less than half an inch.
Décimètre	3.937   inches⁠nearly 4 inches.
Mètre	39.3708   "⁠about 3 feet 3 inches.
Hectomètre	0.0621 mile⁠"⁠1⁄16th of a mile.
Kilomètre	0.6214   "⁠8 kilomètres = 5 miles.
SQUARE.
Centiare	1.196 square yard⁠or 1+1⁄5th square yard.
Are	3.954 poles⁠40½ ares = 1 acre.
Hectare	2.471 acres⁠nearly 2½ acres.
BRITISH LINEAL MEASURES, &c. = FRENCH.
British.	French.
LINEAL.
Inch	25.399 millimètres.
Foot	30.479 centimètres.
Yard	0.914 mètre.
Chain [22 yards]	20.116 mètres.
Furlong [10 chains]	201.164     "
Mile	1.609 kilomètre.⁠5 miles = 8 kilomètres, nearly.
SQUARE.
Square Foot	9.29 square décimètres.
Acre	0.405 hectare⁠or about 40 ares.
Square mile	2.599 square kilomètres.⁠100 square miles = 260 sq. kilomètres.
—————
FRENCH WEIGHTS = BRITISH.
French	British.
Décigramme	1.543 grain⁠or about 1½ grains.
Gramme	15.432 grains.⁠28⅓ grammes = 1 ounce avoirdupois.
Décagramme	0.353 ounce avoirdupois⁠about ⅓ of an ounce avoirdupois.
Hectogramme	3.527 ounces⁠nearly ¼ pound.
Kilogramme or kilo	2.2046 pounds.⁠In trade, a kilo is reckoned at 10 per cent. ⁠more than 2 pounds.
BRITISH WEIGHTS = FRENCH.
British.	French.
Grain	.0648 gramme.
Ounce (avoirdupois)	28⅓ grammes.
Pound "	454 "
Pound (troy)	373 grammes.
Cwt (avoirdupois)	50.8 kilos.
Ton	1015 "
—————
FRENCH LIQUID AND CORN MEASURES = BRITISH.
French	British.
Litre	1.76 pint (imperial)⁠or about 1¾ pints.
Hectolitre	22.01 gallons⁠"⁠22 gallons.
BRITISH LIQUID AND CORN MEASURES = FRENCH.
British.	French.
Pint	0.568 litre⁠or more than ½ litre.
Quart	1.136  "⁠about 1⅛ litres.
Gallon	4.543 litres⁠"⁠4½ litres⁠11 gallons.
Peck	9.087   "⁠"⁠9 litres.⁠= 50 litres.
Bushel [8 gallons]	36.348   "⁠"⁠36⅓ litres.
Quarter [8 bushels]	2.908 hectolitres⁠"⁠3 hectolitres.

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MONEY.

1 £.	25 francs 22 centimes,	or about 25 francs.
1 s.	1 franc 26 centimes,	"⁠1¼ franc.
1 d.	10 centimes.
½ d.	5 centimes, or a 'sou.'
A franc is about 9½ d. 100 francs = £4, nearly. A milliard of francs (1,000,000,000) = £40,000,000, nearly.