Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Odometer
/oʊˈdɑːmɪtər/noun
An instrument that records the distance a vehicle has travelled.
The Greek roots
ὁδός
hodós
way, road
μέτρον
métron
measure
Literally: “road-measurer”
The story of the word
Vitruvius describes a Roman cart geared to drop a pebble into a bronze box at every mile, so the surveyors could count stones at the end of the day. The English word appears in the 1790s, and Thomas Jefferson is usually credited with fitting one of the early American versions to his carriage. The same ὁδός runs through method, a way of pursuing something, and exodus, the way out.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → French → English
- First recorded
- 1791
Same family
methodexodusperiodanodecathode
In a sentence
The odometer had rolled past 300,000 km and the car still started every morning.