Millionth
/ˈmɪl.jənθ/noun
The ordinal form of million; the one corresponding to one million.
Did you know?Million ultimately comes from Italian *milione*, a medieval intensifier built on Latin *mille* (“thousand”), so the word began as an exaggerated “big thousand,” not a mystical number.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sm̥ley-
“A root associated with a thousand (reconstructed ancestor behind Latin *mille*).”
Latin
Latin
mille
“A thousand.”
Late Latin
Latin
mīliō
“A very large number, especially a thousand thousands; an inflated numeral term.”
Old Italian
Italian
milione
“A great thousand; one million.”
Middle English
English
millionth
“The ordinal form of million, meaning the one corresponding to one million.”
Explore more surprising origins