[met.ric] n [Gk metrike, fr. fem. of metrikos in meter, by measure, fr. metron measure--more at measure] (1760) 1 pl: a part of prosody that deals with metrical structure
2: a standard of measurement "no ~ exists that can be applied directly to happiness --Scientific Monthly"
3: a mathematical function that associates with each pair of elements of a set a real nonnegative number with the general properties of distance such that the number is zero only if the two elements are identical, the number is the same regardless of the order in which the two elements are taken, and the number associated with one pair of elements plus that associated with one member of the pair and a third element is equal to or greater than the number associated with the other member of the pair and the third element
[2]metric adj [F metrique, fr. metre meter] (1864): of, relating to, or using the metric system "a ~ study" -- met.ri.cal.ly adv