Googolplex
/ˈɡuːɡəlplɛks/noun
The number 10 raised to the power of a googol, or 10^(10^100).
Did you know?The name was coined by nine-year-old Milton Sirotta, nephew of mathematician Edward Kasner, who also coined googol; Kasner popularized both in 1940.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plek-
“To plait, fold, or weave; the ancient root behind later Latin forms involving folding or interweaving.”
Classical Latin
Latin
plicare / plexus
“To fold or entwine; folded or interwoven.”
17th Century
English
-plex
“A learned combining form associated with Latin-derived numerical formations such as duplex and triplex.”
1938
American English
googol
“A coined name for 10^100, reportedly invented by Milton Sirotta at the suggestion of mathematician Edward Kasner.”
1938
American English
googolplex
“A playful extension of googol, designated by Kasner as 10 raised to the power of a googol.”
1940
English
googolplex
“Popularized in Kasner and James Newman's book Mathematics and the Imagination as the name of an extraordinarily immense number.”