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mired

A unit of color temperature, one millionth of the reciprocal of the color temperature expressed in kelvin. The name comes from micro-reciprocal degrees. The mired has been used, for example, in color temperature meters and to describe color-correcting filters employed by photographers.

The unit was suggested, as micro-reciprocal-degree absolute centigrade, by I. G. Priest in 1933.

Irwin G. Priest.
A proposed scale for use in specifying the chromaticity of incandescent illuminants and various phases of daylight.
Journal of the Optical Society of America, volume 23, pages 41-45 (February 1933).