Kilometre

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Kilometre

The kilometre (American spelling

American English

PhonologyIn many ways, compared to English language in England, North American English is conservative in its phonology. Some distinctive accents can be found on the East Coast of the United States , partly because these areas were in contact with England, and imitated prestigious varieties of English English at a time when those varieties we...
: kilometer), symbol km is a unit

Units of measurement

The definition, agreement and practical use of units of measurement have played a crucial role in human endeavour from early ages up to this day....
of length

Length

Length is the long dimension of any object. The length of a thing is the distance between its ends, its linear extent as measured from end to end....
in the metric system

Metric system

The metric system is an international decimalised systems of measurement, founded by France in 1791, that is the common system of Unit of measurement used by most of the world....
, equal to one thousand metre

Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
s.

Slang

Slang

Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language....
terms for kilometre include click (sometimes spelled klick
Klick

Klick is a common military term meaning kilometer when referring to distance. Its use became popular among US soldiers in Vietnam War during the 1960s, although veterans of the war recall its usage as early as the 1950s....
or klik) and kay (or k).

e are two different pronunciations

List of words of disputed pronunciation

The following is a list of words which are often pronounced by native speakers of the English language in ways which many others consider to be incorrect....
for the word: The former pronunciation follows the general pattern in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
whereby metric units of measurement are pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, and preserves the correct pronunciation of metre
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
.

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Encyclopedia

The kilometre (American spelling

American English

Units of measurement

The definition, agreement and practical use of units of measurement have played a crucial role in human endeavour from early ages up to this day....
of length

Length

Length is the long dimension of any object. The length of a thing is the distance between its ends, its linear extent as measured from end to end....
in the metric system

Metric system

Metre

Slang

Pronunciation

There are two different pronunciations

List of words of disputed pronunciation

The following is a list of words which are often pronounced by native speakers of the English language in ways which many others consider to be incorrect....
for the word:

The former pronunciation follows the general pattern in English

English language

Kingsley Amis

Sir Kingsley William Amis, Commander of Order of the British Empire was an English novelist, poet, critic and teacher. He wrote more than twenty novels, three collections of poetry, short stories, radio and television scripts, and books of social and literary criticism....
has suggested that this pronunciation (and the American spelling) be reserved for the thousand-measurer, the wall which Herodotus

Herodotus

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greeks historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture....
says Xerxes built around a thousand troops so he could count his army.

Equivalence to other units of length

1 kilometre	= 1,000 metres
	˜ 0.621 statute mile Mile A mile is a Units of measurement of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems. In contemporary English contexts, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 5,280 Feet or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters .... sthe rule-of-thumb "multiply by 8 and divide by 5" gives a conversion of 1.6, which is approximately 0.6% too low.
	˜ 1,094 yard Yard A yard is a Units of measurement of length in several different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units.... s
	˜ 3,281 feet
	˜ 0.540 nautical mile Nautical mile A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. It corresponds approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian .It is a non-International System of Units unit used especially by navigators in the shipping and aviation industries.... s
	astronomical unit Astronomical unit An astronomical unit is a unit of length based on the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun. The precise value of the AU is currently accepted as 149,597,870,691 Plus-minus sign 6 metres .... s
	light-year Light-year A light-year or light year is a Units of measurement of length, equal to just under ten orders_of_magnitude_%28numbers%29#1012 kilometres.... s
	parsec Parsec The parsec is a units of measurement of astronomical units of length, equal to just under 31 orders_of_magnitude_#1012 kilometres , or about 3.26 light-years.... s

International usage

The United Kingdom and the United States are the only two developed countries which continue to use miles on road signs.

Although the UK has officially adopted the metric system, there are currently no plans to replace the mile on road signs in the near future, owing to the British public's attachment to traditional imperial units of distance, i.e., miles, yards and inches, and the cost of changing speed signs (which could not be replaced during general maintenance, like distance signs, for safety reasons). As of 11 September 2007, the EU has not challenged Britain's use of the imperial systems. EU commissioner Günter Verheugen

Günter Verheugen

G?nter Verheugen is a Germany politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry. He is also one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member Barroso Commission....
said: "There is not now and never will be any requirement to drop imperial measurements."

In the US, the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 prohibits the use of federal-aid highway funds to convert existing signs or purchase new signs with metric units. However, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration of the United States Department of Transportation to specify the standards by which traffic signs, road markings , and traffic light are designed, installed, and used....
since 2000 is published in both metric and American Customary Units. (See also Metrication in the United States

Metrication in the United States

Metrication in the United States is the process of introducing the SI of units to replace the customary units of measurement that are common in the United States but rarely used elsewhere in the world....
.)