Pat: You're using typographical quotes again -- and they're coming through as OE diphthong for the opening quote and 1 prime for the closing quote.
Are you composing in Word? If so, you need to turn off the option to automatically convert symmetrical quotes to typographical quotes. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Pat Naughtin Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 19:29 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:18922] Re: Mega & Giga : Origins Dear Madan and All on 2002/03/20 03.25, M R at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Anyone has an idea of the origins of the words like > mega, giga, micro, nano, etc. This is my list. Origins of the prefix names Prefix Symbol Origin of prefix yotta Y yotta is derived from the Greek word okto meaning eight. Eight is derived from okto. zetta Z zetta is derived from the Greek word epta meaning seven. The Olympic heptathlonč has epta as its basis for example. exa E exa has no known definite origin. Perhaps it is derived from the first three letters of the Latin phrase ex altus which means up highč. peta P peta is derived from the ancient Greek word peta which means widely extended. tera T tera is derived from the ancient Greek word, teras, which means monster. English uses the same root in teratogenic, which means monster forming. giga G giga is from the ancient Greek word for giant, gigas, which means a giant. In English we use the same root in gigantic. mega M mega simply meant big in ancient Greek. In modern Greek mega is still in use: omega (W) is the big letter oč and omicron (o) is the little letter oč. kilo k kilo comes from the French prefix that meant 1000. It came to French from the ancient Greek, chilioi, which also meant 1000. hecto h hecto is derived from hekaton, the Greek word for 100. deka da deka comes from the Greek word for 10. deci d deci is derived from the Latin word for a tenth, decimus. centi c centi in based on the Latin word for one hundred centum. milli m milli is derived from the Latin word, mille, which means 1000.. It is interesting that this is the same root as the mile (mille passus = 1000 paces). micro ” micro is from the ancient Greek word, mikros, which means small. mikros is also used as a root for English words such as microscope. nano n nano is derived from the ancient Greek word for dwarf, nanos. The English word nanism uses the same root. pico p pico is derived from the Spanish prefix pico, which means a small number or tapering to a sharp point. femto f femto is from the Danish word for fifteen, femten. atto a atto comes from the Danish word for eighteen, atten. zepto z zepto is derived from the Greek word epta meaning seven. yocto y yocto is derived from the Greek word okto meaning eight. Cheers, Pat Naughtin CAMS - Certified Advanced Metrication Specialist - United States Metric Association ASM - Accredited Speaking Member - National Speakers Association of Australia Member, International Federation for Professional Speakers --
