-illion
English
Etymology
Back-formation from million, then used in billion, trillion, quadrillion, each from French, ultimately from Italian mille (“thousand”) and the augmentative suffix -one. -illion was segmented from million as if mi- was a prefix, and -illion the stem.
Suffix
-illion
- Combined with Latin prefixes for names of integers in order to form names of powers of a million.
- Added to various nonsense syllables to indicate an arbitrarily very large number.
Usage notes
- The words formed with this suffix may mean either or in different nations and languages. Hence billion can mean “one million million” or “one thousand million”. See Long and short scales on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Derived terms
English terms suffixed with -illion
Related terms
Translations
suffix forming names of powers of a million or of a thousand greater than 1,000,000
See also
- Indefinite and fictitious numbers on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
French
Etymology
Back-formation from million, ultimately from Italian mille (“thousand”) and the augmentative suffix -one. -illion was segmented from million as if mi- was a prefix, and -illion the stem.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /i.ljɔ̃/
Suffix
-illion m (plural -illions)
Derived terms
French terms suffixed with -illion