A unit of area equal to 10 ares (1,000 square meters), used in land measurement primarily in European countries.
From French 'décare,' combining the prefix 'deca-' (meaning ten) with 'are' (a unit of area equal to 100 square meters). The term emerged in the 19th century as the metric system standardized land measurements across France and other nations.
The decare is a metric oddball—it's too big for everyday use but too small for large properties, which is why you barely hear it today, yet it was crucial for standardizing European land ownership after the French Revolution when metric thinking revolutionized how societies measured property.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.