Units of length in the metric system, where one millimetre equals one-thousandth of a meter (about the thickness of a paperclip wire).
From 'milli-' (Latin 'mille,' one thousand) + 'metre' (Greek 'metron,' measure). Created in France during the 1790s when the metric system was invented as a rational, universal measurement system.
The metric system was literally invented during the French Revolution as a way to standardize measurements across France—it's radical politics hiding in math. The prefix 'milli-' comes from Latin but was weaponized for a modern, democratic vision of universal standards.
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