million English · revision 3607

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1376 (Piers Plowman)|origins=la mīlle}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪl.jən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|milioun]] (also [[m|enm|mylion]]), [[bor|fro|million]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) probably from [[roa-oit|millione]] (now [[m|it|milione]]),^(AHD 2000)^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) literally “a great thousand”, the augmentative of [[m|roa-oit|mille|t=thousand]] with the suffix [[m|it|-one]],^(Etymonline)^(COED 2004)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|mīlle|t=thousand]], which is of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[mile]] and [[millennium]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A thousand thousands: before 1376, in ''Piers Plowman''.^(Barnhart 1988) From the start it was often used loosely for a very great number.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that in the West the word was used mainly by mathematicians until the 16th century; the ancient Greeks had no name for a number above ten thousand, and the Romans none above a hundred thousand, so that a million was ''decies centena milia'', “ten hundred thousand”.^(Etymonline) From the 17th century ''the million'' meant the common people, the masses.^(Hoad 1986) The adjective is from 1694 and ''millionth'' from 1673.^(Barnhart 1988) ''A million to one'', as long odds, is from 1761.^(Etymonline) ''Millionaire'' appeared in the late 18th century according to the Word Origins dictionary,^(Cresswell 2021) while Barnhart's first example is from Disraeli's ''Vivian Grey'' (1826), borrowed from French ''millionnaire''.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Billion'' and ''trillion'' were formed in French in the late 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1376 – a thousand thousands (''Piers Plowman'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 17th century – ''the million'', the masses.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1673 – ''millionth''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1694 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1761 – ''a million to one''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1826 – ''millionaire'' (Disraeli).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[cardinal number]] equal to a thousand thousands, 10⁶.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A million units of money, such as pounds or dollars.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(often plural)'' An indefinitely large number.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(with the)'' The common people; the masses.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Amounting to a million.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[millionfold]]

+ * [[millionth]]

+ * [[millionaire]]

+ * [[multimillion]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mile]]

+ * [[millennium]]

+ * [[billion]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}