English
milliard
Milliard comes from French milliard ‘billion (10⁹)’, from million ‘million (10⁶)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ǵʰéslih₂.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smīɣeslī1‘thousand’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīlle1‘thousand’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmille1‘thousand, one thousand’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmilione1‘million’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400million1
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600million1‘million, 10⁶’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmillion1‘million (10⁶)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmilliard1‘billion (10⁹)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1977milliard1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English milliard
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace: “For the coming year France would contribute 80 milliard…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂Wiktionary, English milliardreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smīɣeslīWiktionary, English milliard‘thousand’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīlleWiktionary, English milliard‘thousand’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmilleWiktionary, English milliard‘thousand, one thousand’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmilioneWiktionary, English milliard‘million’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400millionWiktionary, English milliard
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600millionWiktionary, English milliard‘million, 10⁶’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmillionWiktionary, English milliard‘million (10⁶)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmilliardWiktionary, English milliard‘billion (10⁹)’
- Englishearliest quotation 1977milliardWiktionary, English milliard. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace: “For the coming year France would contribute 80 milliard…”
A compound of *sm̥- ‘one’ + *-h₂ + *-ih₂ + *smih₂ + *ǵʰes- ‘hand’ + *ǵʰéslom ‘thousand’ + *-ih₂ + *ǵʰéslih₂
Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- ‘one’
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- ‘one’
Proto-Indo-European *smih₂
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- ‘one’
Proto-Indo-European *smih₂
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom ‘thousand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom ‘thousand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslih₂
Linked words
through Latin mīlle ‘thousand’
through French million ‘million (10⁶)’
through French milliard ‘billion (10⁹)’
Today it means
num 10⁹, a thousand (times a) million. (Now generally replaced by the short scale billion.)
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “milliard”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ / milliard