milliardaire

Forms

milliardaire m or f by sense (plural milliardaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French milliard + -aire.^[2][1][3][4] The TLFi and the Petit Robert date it to 1866, the Grand Robert and the GLLF to 1877 (Alphonse Daudet).^[2][4][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1866 in Théodore de Banville's Camées parisiens, of a person owning a milliard.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant someone worth at least a thousand million francs or another unit of money.^[5] From 1913 (Larbaud) it was used loosely of any very rich person.^[5][2]

Timeline

• 1866 – Théodore de Banville uses it in the Camées parisiens.^[2]
• 1877 – Alphonse Daudet uses it.^[3][5]
• 1913 – Larbaud uses it of any very rich person.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Owning a milliard or more of a currency: une banque plusieurs fois milliardaire.^[4][5]

Noun

1. A billionaire; loosely, an extremely rich person: les milliardaires du pétrole.^[4][1][2]

Word family

• multimilliardaire

Related words

• milliard
• millionnaire

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse