Unit prefix
designation that is prepended to units of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units
A unit prefix is a specifier or mnemonic that is added to the beginning of a unit of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units. Units of various sizes are commonly formed by the use of such prefixes. The prefixes of the metric system, such as kilo and milli, represent multiplication by positive or negative powers of ten. In information technology it is common to use binary prefixes, which are based on powers of two. Historically, many prefixes have been used or proposed by various sources, but only a narrow set has been recognised by standards organisations.
Metric prefixes
The prefixes of the metric system precede a basic unit of measure to indicate a decadic multiple and fraction of a unit. Each prefix has a unique symbol that is added to the beginning of the unit symbol. Some of the prefixes date back to the introduction of the metric system in the 1790s, but new prefixes have been added, and some have been revised. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has standardised twenty metric prefixes in resolutions dating from 1960 to 1991 for use with the International System of Units (SI). In addition to those listed in the everyday-use table, the SI includes standardised prefixes for 1015 (peta), 1018 (exa), 1021 (zetta), 1024 (yotta), 1027 (ronna), and 1030 (quetta); and for 10−15 (femto), 10−18 (atto), 10−21 (zepto), 10−24 (yocto), 10−27 (ronto), and 10−30 (quecto).
The public source identifies “Unit prefix” as designation that is prepended to units of measurement to indicate multiples or fractions of the units. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Unit, prefix and designation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15132612. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1960, 1991, 1015 and 1018.
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This entry incorporates text from “Unit prefix” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.