decimetre, n. (Formerly at deci- 1 in Dict.)
(ˈdɛsɪmiːtə(r))
Also (now U.S.) decimeter.
[a. F. décimètre (1793): see deci- and metre n.2]
1. In the Metric system, a measure of length equal to 1/10 of a metre.
| 1797 Jrnl. Nat. Philos. Aug. 197 A vessel of a cubical form, having for its side one decimetre,..has received the name of litre. 1809 Naval Chron. XXII. 363 It was about three decimetres in length. 1810 Ibid. XXIV. 301 Littre, Decimeter cube. 1883 Daily News 12 July 3/7 Cartridges of one decimetre in length each. 1964 B.S.I. News Mar. 6/1 The litre is to be a special name for the decimetre cube (dm3), a submultiple of the SI unit of volume. 1970 Austral. Jrnl. Physics XXIII. 197 (heading) Jovian decimetre radiation. |
2. Special Comb.: decimetre wave, an electromagnetic wave of wavelength of the order of a decimetre.
| 1934 Proc. IRE XXII. 634 This shows..that..in the rectification of *decimeter waves by the retarding-field tube, the cause is nothing other than the action of a nonlinear current. 1978 Neurosci. & Behavioral Physiol. VIII. 172 (heading) Selective action of decimetre waves on central brain structures. |