billion

Where does the word "billion" come from? It comes from Latin bi, passing through French before entering English (1680s).

Billion’s story begins in Latin: bi meant “two.” Two, combined with million to mean a million to the second power. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in French as billion. Coined in French mathematical vocabulary for the very large number. It reached English by 1680s as billion. Britain officially adopted the US 'thousand million' billion in 1974. Today, billion means the number one thousand million, 1,000,000,000.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient bi "two", two, combined with million to mean a million to the second power.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1400s billion "a very large number", coined in French mathematical vocabulary for the very large number.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1680s billion "one thousand million, 1,000,000,000", Britain officially adopted the US 'thousand million' billion in 1974.