What is a kil'ometer?

[Barry]

The members here are an erudite and knowledgeable crowd, so I thought I'd as a question that's been perplexing me for ages.
Here in Europe we largely use the metric measurement system. In this we have length (metre), weight (gramme) and volume (litre) along with various multipliers. These are among others deca (x10) kilo (x1000), milli (x 1/1000)centi (x1/100) and so on. Hence we have 1000 grammes = 1 kilogram, 1/10 litre = 1 decilitre and so on. Allmost universally these are pronounced as multiplier (brief pause) measure, as in centi-meter,, kilo-tonne, milli-litre.
Now we come to THE question - why is the kilo-metre pronounced by (mainly american) people as kil-ometer? After all we do not hear mill-imeter or kil-ogram. Is it because we were used to having speed'ometers, gas'ometers, ped'ometers and took the pronunciation from these common measuring devices? Now a kilt-ometer, that's something else again!

Over to you chaps...

[Amoskeag]

Here in the States we have no time for sensible measurement systems! None of this Mamby Pamby divide by ten and get a quick and simple answer stuff. No Siree, Bub! We like dividing everything by 5280 and then again by 12. Keeps us humble. When we get done with that we sit up all night with ounces and pounds

Actually, I'm one of those parochial Luddites who resists the metric system no matter how much sense it makes. (I use it for lab work, it makes sense there) I'm quite comfortable with my old fashioned measuments and this old dog wants nothing to do with new tricks

My Canadian friends pronounce the word kil LOM eter where the LOM is stretched out for several sylables much like a Minne SOT'N would pronounce it.
There was a great editorial cartoon posted way back when the US was going through "The Change" (or at least trying to). Two highway workers were posting km/hr speed limit signs and the question arose as the how far to space them apart. "Oh, put 'em every half mile!"

As to a "Speedo-meter", that is device used at many of our New England beaches to assist some of our male patrons who quite obviously do not have mirrors anywhere between their houses and the beach

[sathor]

Not to mention the usefulness due to our Babylonian based time system (Thank you base 60 using ancient people.) We know that if we go 60 down the highway, we'll be there in x minutes if we know how far we have to go, No doing dangerous math going down the highway!

Here in the States we have no time for sensible measurement systems! None of this Mamby Pamby divide by ten and get a quick and simple answer stuff. No Siree, Bub! We like dividing everything by 5280 and then again by 12. Keeps us humble. When we get done with that we sit up all night with ounces and pounds

Actually, I'm one of those parochial Luddites who resists the metric system no matter how much sense it makes. (I use it for lab work, it makes sense there) I'm quite comfortable with my old fashioned measuments and this old dog wants nothing to do with new tricks

My Canadian friends pronounce the word kil LOM eter where the LOM is stretched out for several sylables much like a Minne SOT'N would pronounce it.
There was a great editorial cartoon posted way back when the US was going through "The Change" (or at least trying to). Two highway workers were posting km/hr speed limit signs and the question arose as the how far to space them apart. "Oh, put 'em every half mile!"

As to a "Speedo-meter", that is device used at many of our New England beaches to assist some of our male patrons who quite obviously do not have mirrors anywhere between their houses and the beach

[sathor]

BTW, I have my degree in Geography. And I still prefer miles. (I like fractions)

[lashbear]

Here in Aus it's mostly pronounced as Kill-OMMA-tah (not like a CENTAH-meetah & a MILLAH-meetah)

[Coinneach]

I think it's because so many Americans never leave or rarely leave the US that the majority don't come across "foreign" words like kilometer in their daily lives. When they do, they simply want to pronounce it and get away from it as quickly as they can. The only way to do that is to not think about the word at all, but take a running start at it and make the landing as soft as one can.

"Kilo-meter" sounds odd to the American ear; almost nothing in the United States starts with "kilo." I most often hear "ki-LOM-eter" rather than "KIL-o-meter." Of course, I had one friend's mother who refused to play the game and the word was always "K-Ms."

I met a lovely older couple last week from Grimsby in the UK who were telling me they had each "lost a stone" before coming to the US for holiday. I congratulated them, but I have yet to look up how much a stone is to really see what an achievement it was. But I figured unless the stone was in a ring, losing it was definitely a good thing.

[davedove]

"Kilo-meter" sounds odd to the American ear; almost nothing in the United States starts with "kilo." I most often hear "ki-LOM-eter" rather than "KIL-o-meter." Of course, I had one friend's mother who refused to play the game and the word was always "K-Ms."

Besides, anyone who has spent time in the military knows that neither pronunciation is correct. The proper term is "klick."

[Spc. Scott]

Besides, anyone who has spent time in the military knows that neither pronunciation is correct. The proper term is "klick."

I think davedove has it right....but that's just me.

[meinfs]

... Allmost universally these are pronounced as multiplier (brief pause) measure, as in centi-meter,, kilo-tonne, milli-litre.
...
Now we come to THE question - why is the kilo-metre pronounced by (mainly american) people as kil-ometer? After all we do not hear mill-imeter or kil-...

I don't hear it pronounced kil-ometer around here. More like ki-LOM-eter.
But more importantly, it doesn't matter much because we use miles, thanks to the English/British/Imperial system of measurement.

[SteveB]

Davedove beat me to it. Americans in the military have called Kilometres "Klicks" for decades.
Americans also have regional flavour to add to the pronunciation key. Heah in Bahston it is usually killahMETah. Then we have killahgrahms, usually abbreviated to just "kilo"s, killacycles, and of course the leetah.

For the rabble outside of the U.S.:
We but alcoholic beverages by the litre, and petrol by the gallon. Although beer is available by the litre and the pint. Soda-pop is sold by the litre, but milk is sold by the quart. Water is metered to the house in Cubic feet, but you can buy it bottled by the gallon, litre, or pint. I run in 10 kilometer races, but my motorcar travels by the mile.

For those of us in the mechanical trades, our toolkits are heavy.
Machinery made in the U.K. uses British Standard, and Whitworth fasteners. That which is made in the U.S. uses a combination of USS threaded and SAE threaded fasteners, with a few metric thrown in to keep us on our toes.
As a long time mechanic (U.S.)/ engineer (U.K.), I have acquired a huge collection of wrenches(U.S.)/ spanners(U.K.).

For the rabble from outside the U.S. and the U.K.:
Both those that are in the U.S. and the U.K. claim to speak "English", however the language has developed to be quite different on the two sides of the ocean. The real fun is that my Canadian rellies all spell like the U.K. but use many of the U.S. terms.
Slainte