Trillion
/ˈtrɪl.jən/noun
A number equal to one thousand billion in the short scale, or one million million million in the long scale.
Did you know?The word was coined in French from the same Latin root as *triple* and *triangle*, because it originally meant a number built around the third power.
Etymological Timeline
Late 16th Century
French
trillion
“A number formed on the third power; originally 1 followed by 18 zeros in the long scale”
1540s
Italian
trilione
“An enormous number, literally a 'third power' formation”
Late Medieval Latin
Latin
trillionem
“A coined large-number term built from tri- ('three')”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*trei-
“Three”