litre - Name origin, Other common metric equivalencies, Conversions

Unit of volume; symbol l; formerly defined as the volume occupied by a mass of 1 kilogram of water at its maximum density and at standard pressure; according to this definition, 1 litre is approximately equal to 1·000028 cubic decimetres. This definition was abrogated in 1964, and the litre is no longer considered to be a precisely defined unit of volume. Officially the term may be used as a name for the cubic decimetre, but the litre should not be used for high accuracy measurements. The precise unit of volume is the cubic metre, approximately 1000 litres.

Multiple	Name	Symbols			Multiple	Name	Symbols
100	litre	l	L
101	decalitre	dal	daL		10–1	decilitre	dl	dL
102	hectolitre	hl	hL		10–2	centilitre	cl	cL
103	kilolitre	kl	kL		10–3	millilitre	ml	mL
106	megalitre	Ml	ML		10–6	microlitre	µl	µL
109	gigalitre	Gl	GL		10–9	nanolitre	nl	nL
1012	teralitre	Tl	TL		10–12	picolitre	pl	pL
1015	petalitre	Pl	PL		10–15	femtolitre	fl	fL
1018	exalitre	El	EL		10–18	attolitre	al	aL
1021	zettalitre	Zl	ZL		10–21	zeptolitre	zl	zL
1024	yottalitre	Yl	YL		10–24	yoctolitre	yl	yL

Name origin

The word "litre" is derived from an older French unit, the litron, whose name came from Greek via Latin.

Other common metric equivalencies

1 µL (microlitre) = 1 mm³ (cubic millimetre) 1 mL (millilitre) = 1 cm³ (cubic centimetre)

Conversions

One litre

≈ 0.87987699 Imperial quart Inverse: One Imperial quart ≡ 1.1365225 litres ≈ 1.056688 US fluid quarts Inverse: One US fluid quart ≡ 0.946352946 litres ≈ 1.75975326 Imperial pints Inverse: One Imperial pint ≡ 0.56826125 litres ≈ 2.11337641 US fluid pints Inverse: One US fluid pint ≡ 0.473176473 litres ≈ 0.2641720523 US liquid gallon Inverse: One US liquid gallon ≡ 3.785411784 litres ≈ 0.21997 Imperial gallon Inverse: One Imperial gallon ≡ 4.54609 litres ≈ 0.0353146667 cubic foot Inverse: One cubic foot ≡ 28.316846592 litres ≈ 0.001 cubic meters (see definition) Inverse: One cubic meter ≡ 1000 litres

Rough conversions

A litre is the volume of a cube with sides of 10 cm, which is slightly less than a cube of sides 4 inches (or one-third of a foot).