Yes technically speaking there is a different physical reference now but that's where it came from. A bit like how 1 ft is now 304.8mm but that's because it's the size of a human foot (with some historic details no doubt).
replyEtymology vs dictionary, I suppose.
But that isn't a change to the definition of the meter. What do you think the motivation for the constant 299,792,458 is?
reply> that isn't a change to the definition of the meter
replyHow is it not? it's not a change to the actual distance (well, it is for a sufficient precision), but a change to the definition of the metre is exactly what it is. It's defined relative to the speed of light rather than a random platinum bar length, with the constant picked so that the actual measurement stay the same (up to a certain level of precision).