In the history of thermodynamics, the dynamode, from the Greek roots in force and path, is a unit of work equal to the effect of a motor lifting 1000-kilograms one meter. [1] The dynamode was the original unit of work proposed in 1829 by French mathematician and engineer Gustave Coriolis in his textbook Calculation of the Effect of Machines. [2] In this sense, one dynamode (D) is equal to:

1 D = 1000 kg ∙ m

This unit may have its origins in French mathematician Jean Hachette's 1811 dynamic unit proposal of kg∙m.

Into the year 1899, the dynamode, in some publications, was considered as a unit of potential defined as work divided by 1000. [3] Although his term 'work' has become standard, the dynamode did not prove popular in the long run as the unit of work. Instead, the modern unit of work is the "joule" (J), named after English physicst James Joule, is equal to:

The use of the kilogram-meter, however, was used by German physicist Rudolf Clausius, in his Mechanical Theory of Heat, beginning in 1850, through 1875. [4]

References
1. Bennett, Joseph. (1858). A Treatise on Hydraulics, (pg. 316). London: D. Van nostrand.
2. (a) Coriolis Biography – MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive.
(b) O I Franksen, “The virtual work principle - a unifying systems concept”, in Structures and operations in engineering and management systems, Trondheim, 1980 (Trondheim, 1981), 17-152.
(c) The contribution of Coriolis, Poncelet, and Navier to the the concept of “work” is examined in detail in: Grattan-Guinness, I. (1984). “Work for the workers : advances in engineering mechanics and instruction in France, 1800-1830, Ann. of Sci. 41 (1), 1-33.
3. Willcox, Cornélis De Witt. (1899). A French-English Military Technical Dictionary, (pg. 537). Govt. Print. Off.
4. Clausius, Rudolf. (1879). The Mechanical Theory of Heat, (pg. 1), (2nd ed). London: Macmillan & Co.