Greek vocabulary question

R A Brown wrote:
> Tim Smith wrote:
>> R A Brown wrote:
> [snip]
>>> Yes - tho _metropolis_ actually means "mother city" as maybe you know.
>>>
>>
>> I thought so, but I wasn't sure; it's good to get confirmation.  Do
>> you know where the "metr-" that means "measure" comes from?
>
> Greek μέτρον /metron/, with a short _e_, = "measure" [noun]
>
> "metr-" in English words may come from any of three Greek sources:
>
> In _metritits_ and _metrorrhagia_ it is from μήτρα /me:tra/ "womb."
>
> In _metronym_ and _metropolis_ it is from μητήρ /me:te:r/ (genitive:
> μητρός /me:tros/) "mother."
>
> In _meter/metre_, _metric_, _metronome_ etc. it is from μέτρον /metron/
> "measure"
I would guess that /me:te:r/ and /me:tra/ ultimately come from the same
Indo-European root (since they both have long "e" and since the semantic
connection between "mother" and "womb" is fairly straightforward), but
that /metron/ comes from a different source?

- Tim

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