meter—A unit of length originally defined (in 1791) as the equivalent of one ten-millionth of the length of the quadrant of the meridian through Paris, from the equator to the North Pole. The use of the metric system within the United States was legalized by the 1866 Congress (U.S. Code 1952 Ed., Tide 15, Chapter 6, Sections 204-205). The international standard meter is defined as 1,650,763.73 times the wavelength of the orange light emitted when a gas consisting of the pure Krypton 86 isotope is excited in an electrical discharge. Based on the meter unit of length used in the United States, one foot is equal to 1,200 meters divided by 3,937. The foot obtained from this equation is referred to as the U.S. survey foot. See also inch.

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Source: NSPS “Definitions of Surveying and Related Terms“, used with permission.

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