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Y2K

What does the “K” in “the Y2K problem” stand for?

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It stands for thousand, i don't remember what the y stands for but it's like y 2000 yeah...

Ivan Jul-12-2004

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Y stands for year. Do you mean K stands for "kilo"? The year 2 kilo problem?!!!

goossun Jul-12-2004

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I think Y2K stands for Year 2 Thousand. K as in kilo which means "thousand".

Originally, kilo was just a prefix for "gramme" in "kilogramme" meaing a thousand grammes.

andreas Jul-13-2004

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K = 1000

2K = 2000

Y2K = Year 2000

http://comfylinguist.blogspot.com

Armchair_Linguist Jul-13-2004

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"Originally, kilo was just a prefix for "gramme" in "kilogramme" meaing a thousand grammes" ??

Survey says: Wrong! Better luck next time :D

anonymous4 Jul-14-2004

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There's a whole slew of similar letters standing for prefixes (latin?) that indicate some sort of number.

n=nano = itty bitty. There's an exact itty bitty number, 10 to the negative 9th power

m = milli = 10 to the negative third (1/1000)

capital M = Mega = 10 to the (positive) 6th = 1,000,000

k = kilo = 1000

and so on

Persnickety Jul-15-2004

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Anonymous, you had better be glad you hid your name. Take it from one who knows, it's easier to do a little research and look knowledgeable than to attempt to impress with your "superior intellect," get the matter totally wrong, and look like a moron.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary online tells us the prefix "kilo-" is "French, modification of Greek 'chilioi'," and the Greek word means "thousand."

The metric system was first proposed and adopted in France around the time of the Revolution (proposed 1791 and adopted by the French Revolutionary Assembly in 1795). This is when the prefix was first coined to represent the base measurement unit multiplied by 10 to the third power. Most of the other prefixes are also French derivations from Greek. Other prefixes did in fact come from Latin ("milli-") and, in modern times, the largest-magnitude prefixes derive from, for example, Spanish (pico-) and Danish (femto-).

So those of you who trace the K (meaning here "thousand") to the metric-system prefix "kilo-" are correct.

speedwell2 Jul-15-2004

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This is simmilar to the usage in long distance running events. When somebody runs a 5K they mean they are running five kilometers or five thousand meters.

Chad1 Jul-18-2004

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Y = year
2 = uh.. 2..
K = thousand

1KG does equal 1000grams does it not?
So does a kilometer and so on. =)

Ivy1 Jul-19-2004

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