Metric system

Definition

Decimal system of weights and measures, devised in France in 1791 and now adopted by almost every country except a few such as the US. Originally called centimeter-gram-second (CGS) system and then meter-kilogram-second (MKS) system, since 1960 it is called Système International d'Unités or SI System or SI units. It comprises of seven base units: (1) kilogram (kg) for mass of matter, (2) mole (mol) for quantity of matter, (3) meter (m) for length, (4) second (s) for time, (5) kelvin (K) for temperature, (6) ampere (A) for electric current, (7) candela (cd) for luminous intensity.