Sagan
English
Etymology 1
The unit is derived from the phrase "billions and billions (of stars)", erroneously attributed to the American astronomer Carl Sagan. The lower bound of such a number must be two billion plus two billion, or four billion. Johnny Carson popularized the phrase through his occasional impersonation of Sagan throughout his career.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Sagan (plural Sagans)
- A surname.
Derived terms
Noun
Sagan (plural Sagans)
- (slang, humorous) A unit of measurement equal to at least four billion.
- 2014, Gabrielle Borisovna, Carl Sagan:
- Today, there is a well-known joke unit of measurement called a Sagan. a Sagan is four billion—the smallest number that could fit the description "billions and billions."
- 2014, Gabrielle Borisovna, Carl Sagan:
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Proper noun
Sagan
- A village in Sardasht Rural District, in the Central District of Bashagard County, Hormozgan Province, Iran.
Etymology 3
Proper noun
Sagan
- Alternative form of Sakan (village in West Azerbaijan, Iran).
Etymology 4
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Proper noun
Sagan
- A river in southern Ethiopia.
- Alternative form: Segan
- 1904, Oscar Neumann, From the Somali Coast Through Southern Ethiopia to the Sudan[1], U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 784:
- I had resolved to pass along the eastern shore of Lake Ganjule, in order to solve the problem of the sources of the river Sagan, the largest affluent of Lake Stefanie, which was supposed to flow out of Lake Ganjule. This I found to be not the case. The sources of the Sagan lie east of the south end of Lake Abaya. But there is a broad channel connecting Lake Ganjule with the Sagan.
- A town in southern Ethiopia, named for the river.
References
- Sagan at dictionary.reference.com (Jargon File)
- William Safire, ON LANGUAGE; Footprints on the Infobahn, New York Times, April 17, 1994
- Carl Sagan, Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium, Random House, 1997
Anagrams
Polish
Etymology
From sagan.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Sagan m pers or f
Declension
Masculine surname:
Declension of Sagan
The feminine surname is indeclinable.
Categories:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English surnames
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English slang
- English humorous terms
- en:Iran
- en:Azerbaijan
- English terms with quotations
- en:Ethiopia
- English eponyms
- English numbers
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Polish/aɡan
- Rhymes:Polish/aɡan/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish proper nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish personal nouns
- Polish feminine nouns
- Polish nouns with multiple genders
- Polish surnames