What does milliard mean?
A milliard was a former British word for one thousand million, or 10^9, and is equivalent to the modern word billion. It belongs mainly to historical and literary English rather than ordinary contemporary usage. The term reflects the influence of French, in which milliard has long been used for this number, and it preserves a distinction that older British readers once commonly made between the short-scale billion and the long-scale meaning found in several continental languages. Today, a milliard is more likely to appear in a novel, a period text, or a discussion of numerical terminology than in current British conversation. In American English, the historical alternative is generally simply billion, which has the value of one thousand million.
nounA former British word for one thousand million (10^9), equivalent to the modern term billion. It is now chiefly found in historical or literary contexts.
- A former British term for one thousand million (10^9), now used mainly in historical and literary contexts.
"The newspaper reported that the company had made a loss of several milliards."
"The novel describes the family fortune as amounting to several milliards."
"In older British writing, a milliard francs meant the same amount as a modern billion francs."
The plural is now rarely encountered outside historical or literary contexts.
"The report estimated the loss at several milliards."
Once, a British reader could say either billion or milliard for the same number—a small linguistic reminder that familiar numbers can have unfamiliar histories.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does milliard come from?
The word entered English from French, where milliard is formed from the Latin milli- element meaning thousand together with a suffix associated with -ard. Its history is connected with the widespread Latin root mille, meaning thousand, which also underlies English words such as million and millennium. Older British usage distinguished the short-scale term billion from the continental long-scale term milliard.
Related word forms
How milliard is actually used
The word is dated in present-day English and is encountered chiefly in older writing or in discussions of British and continental usage. Its use can also suggest a formal or historical register.
Easily confused with milliard
In modern British English, billion means one thousand million, while milliard is an older term for the same number; in American English, billion always has that value.