sextillion

See also: Sextillion

English

Etymology

From Classical Latin sextus (“sixth”) +‎ -illion; originally the sixth power of a million, 10³⁶. Compare slightly earlier quintillion, Middle French sixlion (1484) and French sextillion (1765). First attested in 1689 in John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (see the quotation).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /sɛksˈtɪljən/
Rhymes: -ɪljən
Audio (US): (file)

Numeral

sextillion (plural sextillions)

(US, British, Australia, short scale) A trillion billion: 1 followed by 21 zeros, 10²¹.
(dated British and Australia, long scale) A million quintillion: 1 followed by 36 zeros, 10³⁶.
- 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Of Number”, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book II, § 6, page 99:
  [W]e take now to name them by Millions of Millions of Millions, it is hard to go beyond eighteen, or at moſt four and twenty decimal Progreſſions, without confuſion. But to ſhew how much diſtinct Names conduce to our well reckoning, or having uſeful Ideas of Numbers, let us ſet all these following Figures in one continued Line, as the Marks of one Number: v. g. Nonilions. 857324. Octilions. 162486. Septilions. 345896. Sextilions. 437916. Quintilions. 423147. Quatrilions. 248106. Trilions. 235421. Bilions. 261734. Milions. 368149. Vnites. 623137.

Synonyms

(10²¹): a long scale thousand trillion (trilliard)
(10³⁶): a short scale undecillion

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Translations

a trillion billion, 10²¹ — see also trilliard

Armenian: հազար եռիլիոն (hazar eṙilion)
Dutch: triljard (nl)
Esperanto: triiliardo
Finnish: triljardi
French: trilliard (fr)
German: Trilliarde (de)
Hungarian: trilliárd (hu)
Icelandic: trilljarður f
Italian: triliardo (it)
Japanese: 十垓 (jū-gai)
Korean: 십해 (siphae)
Malay: sekstilion (ms)
Malayalam: ധൂളി (ml) (dhūḷi) (archaic)
Polish: tryliard (pl) m
Portuguese: sextilhão (pt)
Russian: секстиллио́н (ru) m (sekstillión)
Spanish: mil trillones
Turkish: sekstilyon (tr)

a million quintillion, 10³⁶ — see also undecillion

Dutch: sextiljoen (nl)
Esperanto: sesiliono
Finnish: sekstiljoona (fi)
French: frantic (fr), sextillion (fr)
German: Sextillion (de)
Japanese: 一澗 (ikkan)
Spanish: sextillón (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked