Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “billion” come from?

I need to analyze this chain carefully, but I notice the chain appears to contain repetitions of "English black," "English billion," and "English bi-" without clear etymological progression or source languages beyond English. The chain doesn't provide: - Source languages (only English appears) - Original language forms with consistent spellings - Meaning information for any stage - A coherent etymological path Without a proper etymological chain showing progression from older to newer languages with original spellings and attested meanings, I cannot write an accurate one-sentence etymology following your rules. Could you verify the chain data? A proper etymology for "billion" would typically trace through French and Latin sources, not loop through English variants.

billion (English): cardinal...

Definitions

  1. cardinal...

Ancestry of “billion”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbillion10; a long scale billion; a short scale trillion
2French-illion-illion
3Frenchmillionmillion, 10
4Middle Frenchmillionmillion, 10
5Old Frenchmillon—
6Italianmilionemillion
7Italianmillethousand
8LatinMīlle—
9Proto-Italicsmīɣeslī—
10Proto-Indo-Europeansmih₂ǵʰéslih₂—

Words derived from “billion”

  • billion
  • billions
  • trillion
  • billionaire
  • multibillion
  • billionth
  • quadrillion
  • trillionth
  • quintillion
  • multibillionaire
  • sextillion
  • trillionaire
  • multitrillion
  • decillion
  • decillionth
  • septillion
  • octillion
  • quadrillionth
  • billionfold
  • quintillionth
  • nonillion
  • multibillions
  • billionairess
  • sextillionth
Every word from Proto-Indo-European smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ →