XPost: alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage   
   From: vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid   
      
   Le 30/07/2024 à 08:30, Peter Moylan a écrit :   
   > On 30/07/24 14:35, jerryfriedman wrote:   
   >>   
   >> Hm.  You should hear my students on "calorimeter".  Maybe they think   
   >> it's more similar to "millimeter" than to "perimeter".  I admit that   
   >> a colleague of mine, not a native speaker of English, gets some of   
   >> the blame.   
   >   
   > We can draw a distinction between "meter" meaning "a device for   
   > measuring something", and "metre" (with either spelling) meaning "a unit   
   > of length". You can distinguish between the two classes by seeing where   
   > the stress goes.   
   >   
   > In the first group we have barOmeter, thermOmeter, calorImeter,   
   > accelerOmeter, and so on, all with stress on the third-last syllable.   
      
   Gosh, that's right. OxImeter, barOmeter, pedOmeter, taxImeter....   
      
   > In the second we have nAnometre, mIllimetre, cEntimeter, and so on, all   
   > with first-syllable stress.   
   >   
   > The example that breaks the pattern is that many (not all) people say   
   > kilOmeter, which should be a device for measuring kils.   
      
   Cf. milOmeter. I suppose the equivalent would be a kilometremeter.   
      
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