Hecto-

Hecto (symbol: h) is a decimal unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one hundred. It was adopted as a multiplier in 1795, and comes from the Greek ἑκατόν hekatón, meaning "hundred". In 19th century English it was sometimes spelled "hecato", in line with a puristic opinion by Thomas Young. Its unit symbol as an SI prefix in the International System of Units (SI) is the lower case letter h.

The prefix is rarely used in general, but has certain specific applications:

• hectopascal (hPa), in meteorology, for atmospheric pressure, the modern equivalent of the traditional millibar.
• hectolitre (hl or hL), in agriculture, for liquids (notably milk and alcoholic beverages) and bulk commodities (e.g., grain).
• hectogram (hg), in agronomy, for quantities of animal feed (hectogram/animal) and for measures of agricultural productivity (hectogram/hectare); also used in Italy abbreviated as etto, and in Canada, New Zealand and Sweden simply as 100 g, for retail sale of cold cuts and meat.
• hectometre (hm), in radio astronomy, occasionally used to indicate a radio band by wavelength
• In surveying, a square hectometre is called a hectare (ha, or 100 ares = 1 hm² = 10,000 m²).

SI prefixes

Prefix		Base 10	Decimal	English word		Adoption
Name	Symbol			Short scale	Long scale
yotta	Y	1024	1000000000000000000000000	septillion	quadrillion	1991
zetta	Z	1021	1000000000000000000000	sextillion	trilliard	1991
exa	E	1018	1000000000000000000	quintillion	trillion	1975
peta	P	1015	1000000000000000	quadrillion	billiard	1975
tera	T	1012	1000000000000	trillion	billion	1960
giga	G	109	1000000000	billion	milliard	1960
mega	M	106	1000000	million		1873
kilo	k	103	1000	thousand		1795
hecto	h	102	100	hundred		1795
deca	da	101	10	ten		1795
		100	1	one		–
deci	d	10−1	0.1	tenth		1795
centi	c	10−2	0.01	hundredth		1795
milli	m	10−3	0.001	thousandth		1795
micro	μ	10−6	0.000001	millionth		1873
nano	n	10−9	0.000000001	billionth	milliardth	1960
pico	p	10−12	0.000000000001	trillionth	billionth	1960
femto	f	10−15	0.000000000000001	quadrillionth	billiardth	1964
atto	a	10−18	0.000000000000000001	quintillionth	trillionth	1964
zepto	z	10−21	0.000000000000000000001	sextillionth	trilliardth	1991
yocto	y	10−24	0.000000000000000000000001	septillionth	quadrillionth	1991

See also

• Metric prefix
• Numeral prefix