English
million
Million comes from Middle English milioun, from Middle French milion, from Old French millon, from Italian milione, from mille ‘thousand’ (Latin mīlle).
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smīɣeslī‘thousand’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīlle‘thousand’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmille‘thousand’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentmilione‘million’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400millon
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600milion‘million’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milioun‘million’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588million
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*smih₂ǵʰéslih₂reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*smīɣeslī‘thousand’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīlle‘thousand’
- Italianc. 1300–presentmille‘thousand’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentmilione‘million’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400millon
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600milion‘million’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500milioun‘million’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588million
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Let him bring millions infinite of men, Unpeopling weſterne…”
A compound of *sm̥- ‘one’ + *-h₂ + *-ih₂ + *smih₂ + *ǵʰes- ‘hand’ + *ǵʰéslom ‘thousand’ + *-ih₂ + *ǵʰéslih₂
Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- ‘one’
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- ‘one’
Proto-Indo-European *smih₂
Proto-Indo-European *sm̥- ‘one’
Proto-Indo-European *smih₂
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom ‘thousand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- ‘hand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslom ‘thousand’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰéslih₂
Linked words
through Latin mīlle ‘thousand’
through Middle French million ‘million, 10⁶’
Today it means
num The cardinal number 1 000 000: 10⁶; a thousand thousand (1,000²).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *smih₂ǵʰéslih₂ / million