metric system

Compound of metric +‎ system, from French métrique. See also meter.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtɹɪk ˌsɪstəm/

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metric system

1. The system of units developed in France in the 1790s and now used worldwide.
2. The modern version of that system, Système International d'Unités (International System of Units), or SI that is based on the base units of the meter/metre, the kilogram, the second, the ampere, the kelvin, the mole, and the candela.

   see Appendix on SI Units

3. Any variant of that system that was not codified as SI, such as cgs.

• metric (abbreviation)
• (système international): SI

• (variants): cgs, mks, MTS

• metrication
• metric conversion

• decimalization