entry
octillion
/ɑːkˈtɪljən/A number equal to one followed by 27 zeros
From Greek, via Latin and French oct (eight) + French illion (suffix forming names of large numbers).
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
Word Ancestry
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
from French octillion. By surface analysis, oct- (“eight”) + -illion.
The visible clue in octillion is oct-, the same “eight” hiding in octagon, octave, and octopus—the last named for an animal whose arms look like eight living fingers. French mathematicians formed octillion by attaching that numeral element to the large-number suffix -illion, creating a word that sounds almost modest while naming an absurdly vast quantity. In modern American usage, an octillion is 1 followed by 27 zeros; the name is useful precisely because writing all those zeros turns a sentence into a visual thicket. The suffix itself belongs to a family stretching from million to trillion, so octillion is less a lone giant than one member of a carefully expandable numerical dynasty. Remember the image: oct- supplies the eight, while -illion builds the skyscraper of zeros.
The Story
The visible clue in octillion is oct-, the same “eight” hiding in octagon, octave, and octopus—the last named for an animal whose arms look like eight living fingers. French mathematicians formed octillion by attaching that numeral element to the large-number suffix -illion, creating a word that sounds almost modest while naming an absurdly vast quantity. In modern American usage, an octillion is 1 followed by 27 zeros; the name is useful precisely because writing all those zeros turns a sentence into a visual thicket. The suffix itself belongs to a family stretching from million to trillion, so octillion is less a lone giant than one member of a carefully expandable numerical dynasty. Remember the image: oct- supplies the eight, while -illion builds the skyscraper of zeros.
Modern Usage
In a niche gaming usage, a highly intelligent person who creates profitable exploits for Lego games; also used humorously for someone very rich.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describe both the standard numerical meaning and a Lego-game-related slang meaning.
Kin & Kindred
From 'oct'·eight
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'illion'·suffix forming names of large numbers
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary