In the UK, a billion used to mean a million millions (1,000,000,000,000), not a thousand millions (1,000,000,000). Were there specific names for numbers in between the old million and the old billion? If not, how were numbers of that magnitude spoken about? | AskHistorians Archive Observer

In the UK, a billion used to mean a million millions (1,000,000,000,000), not a thousand millions (1,000,000,000). Were there specific names for numbers in between the old million and the old billion? If not, how were numbers of that magnitude spoken about?

by violaceous_trogon

Sorry if the title is confusing.

foxesareokiguess

It used to be like it is now in germanic languages; 1000 million was called a milliard and 1000 milliard was a billion.