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
Famous quotes containing the words standard, dictionary and/or numbers:
“A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“If someday I make a dictionary of definitions wanting single words to head them, a cherished entry will be “To abridge, expand, or otherwise alter or cause to be altered for the sake of belated improvement, one’s own writings in translation.””
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)