billiard

B3I1L1L1I1A1R1D2
UK/ˈbɪlɪəd//ˈbɪl.i.ə(ɹ)d//ˈbɪl.i.ɑː(ɹ)d/

noun

A shot in billiards or snooker in which the cue ball strikes two other balls; a carom.

“a billiard table; a billiard ball”

Similar
1015
OriginFrench billard ← Old French bille ← Vulgar Latin *bilia →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

billiard1

nounbilliard (plural billiards)

plural billiards

  1. A shot in billiards or snooker in which the cue ball strikes two other balls; a carom.
  2. attributivePertaining to the game of billiards.

    a billiard table; a billiard ball

  3. A dynamical system in which a particle alternates between motion in a straight line and specular reflections from a boundary.

billiard2

numeralbilliard (plural billiards)

plural billiards

  1. UKrare10¹⁵, a thousand billion (long scale) or a million milliard.

    Synonyms: 1015

Synonyms & antonyms

numeral10¹⁵, a thousand billion (long scale) or a million milliard.

Similar
1015
Also see
combination

Origin

billiard · noun

  1. Vulgar Latin*bilia
  2. Old Frenchbille“log, tree trunk”
  3. Frenchbillard
  4. Englishbilliard

From French billard with the insertion of the second i and orthographic representation of the French palatalized /j/ sound, originally referring to the wooden cue stick, diminutive of Old French bille (“log, tree trunk”), from Vulgar Latin *bilia, probably of Gaulish origin (compare Old Irish bile (“large tree, tree trunk”)), from Proto-Celtic *belyos (“tree”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰolh₃yos (“leaf”), from *bʰleh₃- (“blossom, flower”).

More words from French, Old French, Vulgar Latin

Full word history & related roots →

billiard · numeral

  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. Frenchmillion
  22. Proto-Indo-European*kret-der.?
  23. Proto-Germanic*harduz
  24. Middle French[Term?]
  25. Frenchmilliardbf.
  26. Frenchbilliard
  27. Englishbilliard

From French billiard, equivalent to bi- (“two”) + -illiard.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish kara, biljardi
  • karaa shot in billiards or snooker
  • biljardia million milliards — see also quadrillion
French carambole, billiard
  • carambolea shot in billiards or snooker
  • billiarda million milliards — see also quadrillion
German Billiarde
  • Billiardea million milliards — see also quadrillion
Spanish billardo
  • billardoa million milliards — see also quadrillion
Cite this entry
APA

billiard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/billiard

MLA

“billiard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/billiard. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “billiard,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/billiard.

Source: billiard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.