entry
sextillion
/sɛksˈtɪljən/A number equal to one followed by twenty-one zeros
From Classical Latin sext- (sixth).
from Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
+1 more sourcefrom Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
+1 more sourcefrom Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
+1 more sourcefrom Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
from Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
Word Ancestry
from Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
+1 more sourcefrom Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
+1 more sourcefrom Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
+1 more sourcefrom Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
from Latin sext- , combining form of sex "six" (see six ) + ending
Before it became a playground joke about the sound of “sex,” sextillion was simply a piece of numerical engineering: Latin sextus, “sixth,” was bolted onto the family ending of million. The word appeared in English in the 1680s, and John Locke used it in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, first published in 1689. But there is a numerical ambush here: in older English and Italian long-scale usage, a sextillion meant 10³⁶, while modern American short-scale usage makes it 10²¹. That is a difference of fifteen zeros—enough to turn a cosmic estimate into an entirely different cosmos. Remember the word as “six meets million,” then check which counting system is holding the ruler.
The Story
Before it became a playground joke about the sound of “sex,” sextillion was simply a piece of numerical engineering: Latin sextus, “sixth,” was bolted onto the family ending of million. The word appeared in English in the 1680s, and John Locke used it in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, first published in 1689. But there is a numerical ambush here: in older English and Italian long-scale usage, a sextillion meant 10³⁶, while modern American short-scale usage makes it 10²¹. That is a difference of fifteen zeros—enough to turn a cosmic estimate into an entirely different cosmos. Remember the word as “six meets million,” then check which counting system is holding the ruler.
Modern Usage
Used humorously because its spelling resembles the word “sex.”
Kin & Kindred
From 'sext-'·sixth; six
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-illion'·number-forming suffix for very large quantities
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary