Definition:Litre

Definition

The litre is an SI unit of volume.

It is defined as:

\(\ds \)

\(\)

\(\ds 1\)

litre

\(\ds \)

\(=\)

\(\ds 1000\)

cubic centimetres

\(\ds \)

\(=\)

\(\ds 10^{-3}\)

cubic metres

Symbol

$\mathrm l$

The symbol for the litre is $\mathrm l$.

Its $\LaTeX$ code is \mathrm l .

Linguistic Note

The spelling litre is the one adopted by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Liter is the variant used in standard American English.

While $\mathsf{Pr} \infty \mathsf{fWiki}$ attempts in general to standardise on American English, the name of this unit is one place where a deliberate decision has been made to use the international spelling, in order to provide consistency with the British spelling of metre.

Sources

• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: litre
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: litre
• 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: litre