Billion
The word "'billion", and its equivalents in other languages, refer to one of two different numbers.
| 1012 | The original meaning, established in the 15th century, was "a million of a million" (1,000,0002, hence the name billion), or 1012 = 1 000 000 000 000. This system, known in French as the échelle longue ("long scale") is currently used in most countries where English is not the primary language. |
| 109 | In the late 17th century a change was made in the way of writing large numbers. Previously, numbers were written separated into groups of six digits; subsequently, the modern grouping of three digits came into use. As a result, a minority of Italian and French scientists began using the word "billion" to mean 109 (one thousand million, or 1 000 000 000), and correspondingly redefined trillion etc. to mean powers of one thousand rather than one million. This is known in French as the échelle courte ("short scale"), and is now officially used by all English-speaking countries, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Russia, Turkey and Greece. Articles in the English Wikipedia that don't state otherwise use this convention as well. |
The obsolete word "milliard" can be used for 109 to avoid ambiguity, though this usage is unfamilar to some speakers of English. See long scale for a more detailed discussion and usage advice.
See also
- 1 E9 (or 1 E12) for a list of occurrences of numbers of this magnitude
- Number names
- American and British English differences
- False friends
External links
- A short history of the term "billion" (http://www.heise.de/tp/deutsch/html/result.xhtml?url=/tp/deutsch/inhalt/glosse/13184/1.html&words=billion) and its correction (http://www.heise.de/tp/deutsch/inhalt/co/17069/1.html) (articles in German)
- alt.usage.english FAQ (http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxbill00.html)
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