Easy. "diametric".
>Sometimes you hear people use the word "ye", but only when followed
>by "olde", to mean (in a comical, eccentric way), "venerable or antique",
>as in, "I'm going to boot ye olde computer now."
There are two different "ye"'s. One is a form of "you", but the other is a
mistake, confusing an obsolete letter (still used in Icelandic) that was
pronounced "th" with "y", which it somewhat resembles.
>In the same way, we Americans can no longer think of any way to use
>"furlong" or "fortnight" except in that joke.
Not so. Horserace tracks are still measured in furlongs. I suspect the term
may also still be used by surveyors, who traditionally use a completely
different system of lengths:
1 Link 7.92"
1 Rod (or, sometimes, 1 Perch) 25 Links 16' 6"
1 Chain 4 Rods 100 Links 66'
1 Furlong 10 Chains 40 Rods 1000 Links 660'
1 Mile 8 Furlongs 80 Chains 320 Rods 8000 Links 5280'
1 Perch 1 Square Rod 272.25 Square Feet
1 Acre 160 Perches 43560 Square Feet
1 Square Mile 640 Acres 102400 Perches 27878400 Square Feet