stère

In the metric system (but not SI), a special name for the cubic meter when used as a unit of capacity for stacked firewood, but requiring certain dimensions. The law of 28 Messidor an VII required that the length of the base of a 1-stère stack be one meter (2-stère, 2 meters; and so on.). The CIPM adopted the unit in 1879.¹ At that time the symbol was “s”; in 1948 the 9th CGPM changed the symbol to “st” (Resolution 7). Not a common unit anymore, though in the Cameroons, the décastère ( = 10 cubic meters) and décistère (= 100 cubic dm) were in use in the 1960s.

The stère was approved for use in the United States by Sec. 2 of the Act of July 28, 1866. In 1982 it was declared no longer acceptable.²

1. Bureau Internationale des Poids et Mesures.
Proc.-Verb. Com. Int. Poids et Mesures, 1879. Page 41.

2. Federal Register February 26, 1982, 47 fr 8399-8400.