mega-

See also mega, méga-, and méga

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μέγας (megas, “great, large, mighty”), from Proto-Indo-European *meg- (“great”). Cognate with Latin magnus, and with Germanic words: Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐍃 (mikils), Old English micel, Middle English muchel, English much, Old High German mihhil, Old Norse mikill, Danish meget.

Pronunciation

• enPR: mĕgʹə, IPA: /ˈmɛɡə/, X-SAMPA: /"mEg@/
• also IPA: /ˈmeɪɡə/

Prefix

SI prefix
M
	Previous:	kilo-
	Next:	giga-

mega-

1. (originally) Very large, great. Denoting a size larger than usual.
2. In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by one million (10⁶.) SI Symbol: M, computing abbreviation: Mi.
3. (computing) Multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 2²⁰ (= 1,048,576, the binary round number closest to a million).
4. (computing, marketing) Multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 2¹⁰ × 10³ (= 1024,000, the binary round number closest to thousand).

Usage notes

• also written separately as an adjective, meaning very large or great; (see mega).
• Because the meaning "2²⁰" is in conflict with the meaning "one million" used with SI units, the alternative mebi- has been proposed, with Mi proposed for use with SI units and M in computing. This sense is US only not widely used.

Synonyms

• (very large): megalo-, (before a vowel) megal-
• (before a vowel) meg-

Antonyms

• micro-

Derived terms

[+] English words prefixed with mega-

mega megabar megabase megabit megabucks megabyte megacephalic, megacephalous, megacephaly Megacheiroptera megacity megacurie megacycle megadeath megadose megadyne megafarad megafauna megaflora megaflop megafog

megagamete megagauss megagram, megagramme megaherbivore megahertz megajoule megalith, megalithic megalitre, megaliter megalomania, megalomaniac megalomanic megametre, megameter meganewton megaparsec megaphone megapixel megapode megapolis megarad

megascope megasporangium megaspore, megasporic megasporophyll megastar megastore megastructure megatechnology megathere, megatherian, Megatherium megaton megavertebrate megavitamin megavolt megawatt mega-wide mega world megohm

Related terms

• mega (adjective)
• much
• almagest

Translations

very large, great

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 兆- (cmn) (zhào-)

• Dutch: mega- (nl)
• Estonian: mega- (et)
• Greek: μεγα- (el) (mega-) 

• Italian: mega- (it)
• Japanese: 超 (ja) (chō), 巨大 (ja) (kyodai)
• Russian: мега- (ru) (m'éga-) 
• Spanish: mega- (es)

multiplication factor one million

• Dutch: mega- (nl)
• Estonian: mega- (et)
• Greek: μεγα- (el) (mega-) 
• Italian: mega- (it)

• Japanese: メガ (ja) (mega)
• Malay: mega- (ms)
• Russian: мега- (ru) (m'éga-) 
• Spanish: mega- (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Mandarin: 兆- (zhào-), 百万- (bǎiwàn)
• French: méga- (fr)
• Latin: mega- (la)
• Portuguese: mega- (pt)

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Finnish

Prefix

mega-

1. mega-

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Italian

Prefix

mega-

1. mega- (all senses)