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millimetro

millimetre

noun meel-LEE-meh-troh Rare
Numbers & Measures Measurements

Origin: From French millimètre, from Latin mille (thousand) + Greek metron (measure).

Usage Note

Millimetro is a standard metric unit abbreviated mm. Its plural is regular: i millimetri. In everyday speech Italians often say un millimetro to mean a tiny, negligible amount: Non si è mosso di un millimetro (It didn't move a millimetre), conveying extreme precision or stubbornness.

Examples

"Lo spessore è di soli tre millimetri."

Natural Translation

The thickness is only three millimetres.

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