different between billion vs kajillion

English

Etymology

From French billion, from bi- (“two”) +? -illion.

Pronunciation

• enPR: b?l'y?n, IPA^(key): /?b?lj?n/
• Rhymes: -?lj?n
• Hyphenation: bil?lion

Noun

billion (plural billions)

1. (US, modern British & Australian, short scale) a thousand million (logic: 1,000 × 1,000^2): 1 followed by nine zeros, 10⁹; a milliard
2. (dated, rare, British & Australian, long scale) A million million (logic: 1,000,000^2): a 1 followed by twelve zeros; 10¹²
3. (colloquial, hyperbolic) An unspecified very large number.

Synonyms

• (10⁹): milliard, thousand million
• (10¹²): trillion (short scale)

Derived terms

• billionaire

Related terms

• trillion, coined at same time
• zillion, coined after the series million, billion, trillion, quadrillion (modern slang)
• gazillion, from same origin
• -illion, from same origin

Translations

See also

• (short scale) Previous: million. Next trillion.
• (long scale) Previous: milliard. Next billiard.
• ISO prefix: giga-

Danish

Noun

billion

1. 10¹²

Declension

French

Etymology

From bi- (“two”) +? -illion; i.e., a million million.

Coined by Jehan Adam in 1475 as by-million. Rendered as byllion by Nicolas Chuquet in 1484, in his article “Triparty en la science des nombres”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.lj??/

Numeral

billion

1. 10¹²; a long scale billion; a short scale trillion.

Usage notes

• Previous: milliard, 10⁹
• Next: billiard, 10¹⁵

Related terms

• trillion, coined at same time

Descendants

• ? Catalan: bilió

References

Further reading

• “billion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Noun

billion m (plural billions)

1. billion, a million-million, 10¹²
   • 1520, Étienne de La Roche, L'arismethique novellement composee, page 6

     ung billion vault mille milliers de millions

     a billion is equivalent to a thousand thousands of millions

English

Etymology

See +? -illion

Pronunciation

Noun

kajillion (plural kajillions)

1. (slang, hyperbolic) An unspecified large number (of).

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:zillion.