In the 19th century the French word , a shortening of , was imported into the English language where it has been used to mean both kilogram and kilometre. While "kilo" as an alternative is acceptable, to "The Economist" for example, the Canadian government's Termium Plus system states that "SI (International System of Units) usage, followed in scientific and technical writing" does not allow its usage and it is described as "a common informal name" on Russ Rowlett's Dictionary of Units of Measurement. When the United States Congress gave the metric system legal status in 1866, it permitted the use of the word "kilo" as an alternative to the word "kilogram", but in 1990 revoked the status of the word "kilo".