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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word billion was formed in the 16th century (from million and the prefix bi-, "two"), meaning the second power of a million (1,000,000 2 = 10 12). This long scale definition was similarly applied to trillion , quadrillion and so on.
One billion years may be called an eon in astronomy or geology. Previously in British English (but not in American English), the word "billion" referred exclusively to a million millions (1,000,000,000,000). However, this is not common anymore, and the word has been used to mean one thousand million (1,000,000,000) for several decades. [5]
Each of these words translates to the American English or post-1974 British English word billion (10 9 in the short scale). The term billion originally meant 10 12 when introduced. [7] In long scale countries, milliard was defined to its current value of 10 9, leaving billion at its original 10 12 value and so on for the larger numbers. [7]
The Oxford English Dictionary comments that googol and googolplex are "not in formal mathematical use". Usage of names of large numbers Some names of large numbers, such as million , billion , and trillion , have real referents in human experience, and are encountered in many contexts, particularly in finance and economics.
For example "billion" may be easier to comprehend for some readers than "1,000,000,000". ... Standard notation is a variation of English's natural language numbering ...
Walmart now has a market cap of $763.8 billion. ... Lilly is now up 32% year to date, with a market cap of $689.5 billion, meaning it would need to grow by 45% to get to $1 trillion.
If the company can shave that by 50 basis points, it will have an operating income of $20.9 billion by fiscal 2030, up 125% from fiscal 2024, which puts it in range of a $1 trillion market ...
This derives from the old British English word for a thousand million, a milliard, which has now been replaced by the 'short scale' name 'billion' from US English. The term 'million' for a million pounds or dollars is often dropped when it is clear from context. E.g. "He made three quid last year" would mean "He earned three million pounds".