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Look up kilo- in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Kilo- (symbol: k, lowercase) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication of the unit by one thousand.

For example:

• one kilogram is 1000 grams
• one kilometre is 1000 metres
• one kilojoule is 1000 joules
• one kilobaud is a rate of transfer used primarily in telecommunications
• one kilobyte is formally equal to 1000 bytes. However, a second definition and usage has historically been in practice in many fields of computer science and information technology, which defines the prefix kilo when used with byte or bit units of information as 1024 (2¹⁰); this is due to the mathematical coincidence that Thus, in these fields 1 kilobyte is equal to 1 kibibyte, a new unit standardized as part of the binary prefixes to resolve the ambiguity.

The kilo prefix is derived from the Greek word χίλιοι (chilioi), meaning thousand. It was originally adopted by Antoine Lavoisier's group in 1795, and introduced into the metric system in France with its establishment in 1799.

Please note: within the printing industry "K" for 1000 can and will be used side by side with the Roman "M" for 1000. For example: say, K for 1000 sheets, when talking about material (paper is referred to as "material" within the trade) and at the same time, M for 1000 copies of a brochure, leaflet or folder, etc. Or vice versa. These terms are used normally on a day to day basis by experienced consumate professionals within the printing industry

Exponentiation

When units occur in exponentiation, such as in square and cubic forms, any multiplier prefix is considered part of the unit, and thus included in the exponentiation.

• 1 km² means one square kilometre or the area of a square of 1000 m by 1000 m or 10⁶ m².
• 1 km³ means one cubic kilometre or the volume of a cube of 1000 m by 1000 m by 1000 m or 10⁹ m³.

See also

• International System of Units

References