Notebook

Notebook, 1993-

DIMENSIONS: FORM / Guide

Meter






Fundamental Unit of Length in the Metric System . . . . Poetic Measure . . . . Arrangement of words in rhythmic Lines or Verses . . . . Particular Forms of such an arrangement . . . . The Rhythmic Element as measured by division into parts of equal time value . . . . The unit of measurement in terms of number of beats . . . . Measure and Register . . . .'Measure' used in the names of instruments measuring quantity, extent, degree


Elson's Music Dictionary:
Metre Measure; verse; arrangement of poetical feet, or of long and short syllables in verse. The succession of accents in music. Metre is the rhythm of the phrase, not of the measure.

[Elson, Louis C. Professor of Theory of Music at the New England Conservatory of Music. Elson's Music Dictionary. Boston: Oliver Ditson Co. MCMV.] 


R  E  F  E  R  E  N  C  E  S
Meter 1. [< F mètre < GK métron measure] n. the fundamental unit of length in the metric system, equivalent to 39.37 U.S. inches, now defined as 1,650,763,73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of krypton 86 under specified conditions. Abbr.: m Also, esp. Brit., metre.

2 Meter n. 1. Pros. a. poetic measure; an arrangement of words in rhythmic lines or verses. b. a particular form of such an arrangement, depending on both the kind and the number of feet constituting the verse [usually used in combination]: iambic trimeter. 2. Music. a. the rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value. b. the unit of measurement, in terms of number of beats, adopted for a given piece of music. Cf. measure [def. 16]. Also, esp. Brit., metre. [ME metir, metur, OE méter < L metr(um) poetic meter, verse < GK métron measure; r. ME metre < MF]

3 Meter n. 1. an instrument that automatically measures and registers a quantity consumed, distance traveled, degree of intensity, etc. -v.t. 2. to measure by means of a meter [ME; see mete1, er1]

-meter, a learned borrowing from Latin and Greek meaning "measure" used in the names of instruments measuring quantity, extent, degree, etc. : altimeter; barometer. Cf. -metry. [< NL -metrum < GK métron measure]

[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]




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