nonmetric
|non-met-ric|
🇺🇸
/nɑnˈmɛtrɪk/
🇬🇧
/nɒnˈmɛtrɪk/
not based on a metric (not measured by a metric)
Etymology
'nonmetric' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non-' meaning 'not' attached to 'metric', where 'metric' ultimately comes from Greek 'metron' meaning 'measure' (via Latin/French).
'metric' derives from Greek 'metron' ('measure') → Late Latin/Medieval Latin 'metricus' → French 'métrique' → English 'metric'; the negating prefix 'non-' (from Old French/Latin 'non') was later combined to produce forms like 'non-metric' and then 'nonmetric'.
Initially it was a straightforward negation meaning 'not metric' (not based on measurement or not using the metric system); over time it has been used in specialized senses (e.g., 'nonmetric' in topology or data analysis) while retaining the core idea of 'not based on a metric.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not using the metric system of measurement (e.g., using inches or miles instead of meters or kilometers).
Many older maps show distances in nonmetric units such as miles and yards.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 2
(Mathematics) Not metrizable; not possessing a metric (distance function) that defines its structure.
Researchers gave an example of a nonmetric topological space that cannot be derived from any distance function.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 3
(Statistics / data analysis) Not based on a metric (interval/ratio) scale; relating to ordinal or qualitative relationships rather than true numerical distances (e.g., in nonmetric multidimensional scaling).
Nonmetric multidimensional scaling is often used when data are ordinal rather than interval-level.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/10 11:55