Names of Large Numbers - Standard Dictionary Numbers

Standard Dictionary Numbers

Name Short scale
(U.S. and
modern British)		 Long scale
(continental Europe,
older British)		 Authorities
AHD4 CED COD OED2 OEDnew RHD2 SOED3 W3 UM
Million 106 106 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Milliard 109 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Billion 109 1012 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Trillion 1012 1018 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Quadrillion 1015 1024 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Quintillion 1018 1030 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Sextillion 1021 1036 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Septillion 1024 1042 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Octillion 1027 1048 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Nonillion 1030 1054 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Decillion 1033 1060 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Undecillion 1036 1066 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Duodecillion 1039 1072 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Tredecillion 1042 1078 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Quattuordecillion 1045 1084 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Quindecillion (Quinquadecillion) 1048 1090 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Sexdecillion (Sedecillion) 1051 1096 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Septendecillion 1054 10102 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Octodecillion 1057 10108 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Novemdecillion (Novendecillion) 1060 10114 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Vigintillion 1063 10120 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Centillion 10303 10600 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Name Value Authorities
AHD4 CED COD OED2 OEDnew RHD2 SOED3 W3 UM
Googol 10100 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Googolplex 10Googol ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Apart from million, the words in this list ending with -illion are all derived by adding prefixes (bi-, tri-, etc., derived from Latin) to the stem -illion. Centillion appears to be the highest name ending in -"illion" that is included in these dictionaries. Trigintillion, often cited as a word in discussions of names of large numbers, is not included in any of them, nor are any of the names that can easily be created by extending the naming pattern (unvigintillion, duovigintillion, duoquinquagintillion, etc.).

All of the dictionaries included googol and googolplex, generally crediting it to the Kasner and Newman book and to Kasner's nephew. None include any higher names in the googol family (googolduplex, etc.). The Oxford English Dictionary comments that googol and googolplex are "not in formal mathematical use".

Read more about this topic:  Names Of Large Numbers

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