billion
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From French billion, from bi- (“two”) + -illion.
Pronunciation[edit]
Numeral[edit]
billion
- (US, modern British & Australian, short scale) a thousand million: 1 followed by nine zeros, 109; a milliard
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2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist[3], volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
- In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.
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- (dated, British & Australian, long scale) A million million: a 1 followed by twelve zeros; 1012
- (colloquial, in the plural, hyperbolic) A very large number.
- There were billions of people at the concert.
Synonyms[edit]
See also[edit]
- (short scale) Previous: million. Next trillion:
- (long scale) Previous: milliard. Next billiard:
- ISO prefix: giga-
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
- trillion, coined at same time
Translations[edit]
a thousand million; 1,000,000,000; a milliard
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a million million; 1,000,000,000,000
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French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From bi- (“two”) + -illion; i.e., a million million.
Coined by Jehan Adam in 1475 as by-million.[1] [2] [3] Rendered as byllion by Nicolas Chuquet in 1484, in his article “Triparty en la science des nombres”.[4] [5]
Pronunciation[edit]
Numeral[edit]
billion
- 1012; a long scale billion; a short scale trillion.
Usage notes[edit]
Related terms[edit]
- trillion, coined at same time
Descendants[edit]
- Catalan: bilió
References[edit]
- ^ Bibliothèque St Geneviève, Paris, MS Français 3143 - original French manuscript by Jehan Adam
- ^ Jehan Adam, Traicté en arismetique pour la practique par gectouers… Parchemin. XVe siècle (1475).
- ^ Lynn Thorndike, “The Arithmetic of Jehan Adam, A.D. 1475,” Science and Thought in the Fifteenth Century
- ^ Chuquet, Nicolas (1484) Triparty en la science des nombres (ISSN 9012-9458), Bologna (Italy): Aristide Marre, published 1880
Idem (accessed 2008-03-01), “Nicolas Chuquet's manuscript”, in (Please provide the title of the work)[1], Published by www.miakinen.net - ^ Idem (accessed 2008-03-01), “Nicolas Chuquet's chapter”, in (Please provide the title of the work)[2], Transcription by Michael Florencetime
External links[edit]
- “billion” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Middle French[edit]
Noun[edit]
billion m (plural billions)
Categories:
- English terms derived from French
- English words prefixed with bi-
- English words suffixed with -illion
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English numerals
- American English
- English dated terms
- English colloquialisms
- English hyperboles
- English cardinal numbers
- English false friends for German speakers
- French words prefixed with bi-
- French words suffixed with -illion
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French numerals
- French cardinal numbers
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- Middle French cardinal numbers