Etymology

billion

bil·lion
B3I1L1L1I1O1N1

Today it means: a thousand million (logic: 1,000 × 1,000²): 1 followed by nine zeros, 10⁹. Full definition →

French billion ← Middle French million ← Old French million
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  3. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
  4. Proto-Italic*dwis
  5. Old Latinduis
  6. Latinbis
  7. Frenchbi-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*sm̥-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*smih₂
  11. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰes-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰéslom
  13. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰéslih₂
  14. Proto-Indo-European*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂
  15. Proto-Italic*smīɣeslī
  16. Latinmīlle
  17. Italianmille
  18. Italianmilione
  19. Old Frenchmillion
  20. Middle Frenchmillion
  21. Frenchmillionbf.
  22. Frenchbillion
  23. English todaybillion

From French billion, equivalent to bi- (“two”) + -illion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.