million French · revision 17137

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1266, Le Garçon et l'Aveugle (millon)|origins=la mīlle}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mi.ljɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''million''' ''m'' (plural millions)^(Larousse)

+ ''Millon'' (1266), ''million'' (1359).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|milione|t=a thousand times a thousand]], recorded in the first half of the 14th century and formed on [[m|it|mille|t=thousand]], of the same origin as French [[mille]], with the augmentative suffix [[m|it|-one]] (see [[-on]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) Bloch and Wartburg gloss the Italian word “a great thousand”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Compare [[pro|milio]], [[ca|milió]], [[es|millón]] and [[pt|milhão]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Le Garçon et l'Aveugle'' (1266) has ''millon'' for a thousand times a thousand, and ''million'' is in the Treaty of London (1359).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By extension it has meant a very great number since about 1460 (''ung million de joye''), reinforced in ''mille millions de'' (1790).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) It expresses great wealth in ''des millions'' and in phrases such as ''riche à millions'' (1762) and ''ne compter que par millions'' (1694).^(DHLF 1992) After the Italian ''Il Milione'' it sometimes names Marco Polo's book.^(DHLF 1992) Babeuf (1795) spoke scornfully of the rich as ''l'honorable million''.^(BHVF) By changing the suffix, French made ''milliasse'' (1479) and [[milliard]] (1544), and on the model of Latin ''bi-'', ''tri-'' the words ''billion'' and ''trillion'' (1484), which in the 16th century named numbers a thousand times larger than today.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1266 – ''Millon''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1359 – ''Million''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1460 – “A very great number”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1544 – ''Milliard''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1550 – ''Millionième''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1721 – ''Millionnaire''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1762 – ''Riche à millions''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|million]]: ''un million d'habitants'', ''des millions d'euros''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A huge number: ''des millions de fois''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A million (francs, euros…), a large fortune: ''gagner des millions'', ''riche à millions''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[millionième]]

+ * [[millionnaire]]

+ * [[multimillionnaire]]

+ * [[milliard]]

+ * [[milliasse]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mille]]

+ * [[billion]]

+ * [[trillion]]

+ * [[it|milione]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}