Please help me win a few bets. I believe the word "kilometer" is pronounced like centimeter or millimeter, not thermometer. TV and radio like to pronounce it with the second syllable accented, like thermometer. Who is correct?
To the best of my knowledge, both pronunciations are in wide use. I associate the one with initial stress (like centimeter) with non-US speakers, while the one one with stress on the second syllable (like thermometer) with US speakers.
The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition states:
USAGE NOTE: Although the pronunciation of kilometer with stress on the second syllable, ... is often censured because it does not conform to the stress pattern in millimeter and centimeter (it originally came about by false analogy with barometer and thermometer), it continues to thrive in American English. In a recent survey, 69 percent of the Usage Panel preferred this pronunciation, while 29 percent preferred the pronunciation ... /on the first syllable/ .
The special characters didn't transfer well, so I added the editorial note.
It's not easy to win bets on pronunciation of words, because there are so many acceptable regional variances. For example, nuclear pronounced as nucular, and jewelry pronounced as jewlery. Not all dictionaries include all the variants, making the settling of a bet that much harder. I'm surprised, though. Didn't any of your friends bet that it is correct to pronounce kilometer either way, not just one way or the other?
No, they think the way Hollywood pronounces it is the only way. I usually pronounce it like centimeter, but I'm weakening as I hear it on TV, radio, and on the street pronounced what I consider the wrong way. Thanks for you input.
miketune said:
I usually pronounce it like centimeter...
Do you pronounce the first syllable of centimeter "CENT" or "SONT"? 😉