sextillion
/sɛksˈtɪljən/ numeral
Forms sextillions
- numeral (US, UK, Australia, short scale) A trillion billion: 1 followed by 21 zeros, 10²¹.
- numeral (dated UK and Australia, long scale) A million quintillion: 1 followed by 36 zeros, 10³⁶.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Classical Latin sextus (“sixth”) + -illion; originally the sixth power of a million, 10³⁶. Compare slightly earlier quintillion, Middle French sixlion (1484) and French sextillion (1765). First attested in 1689 in John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (see the quotation).
Webster’s 1913
- noun According to the method of numeration (which is followed also in the United States), the number expressed by a unit with twenty-one ciphers annexed. According to the English method, a million raised to the sixth power, or the number expressed by a unit with thirty-six ciphers annexed. See Numeration.
Etymology [Formed (in imitation of million) fr. L. sextus sixth, sex six: cf. F. sextilion.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sextillion”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details