Nano
/ˈnænoʊ/noun
A metric prefix meaning one billionth (10⁻⁹), or something extremely small.
Did you know?Nano comes from Greek nanos, meaning “dwarf,” a word that survived into modern science as the prefix for the billionth-scale world.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
nanos
“dwarf, a very small person”
Late Latin
Latin
nānus
“dwarf”
Modern Scientific Latin
Latin
nano-
“prefix used in scientific compound terms for one billionth”
20th Century
English
nano-
“metric prefix denoting 10⁻⁹; by extension, extremely small”