[Ads-l] Antedating of "Billion"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Fred Shapiro wrote:
> billion (OED, 2., 1834)
>
> 1814 Peter Barlow _A New Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary_ s.v. _billion_
>
> The French mathematicians understanding billion to mean thousands of millions.

Excellent citation Fred. Intriguing topic.

In 1808 a writer in “The British Critic” discussed the ambiguity of
the term “billion” and recommended defining “billion” as a thousand
million. Apparently, his proposal was not adopted in the U.K. at that
time. In the U.K. a billion was a million million in the past. The
definition has been shifting during the past seventy years (I think).
For example, currently, a billion is a thousand million “in official
UK statistics”. (See further below)

Date: July 1808
Periodical: The British Critic
Article: Florian-Jolly's Course of Sciences
Start Page 36, Quote Page 40
Database: Google Books Full View

https://books.google.com/books?id=EHpPAQAAMAAJ&q=%22much+clearer%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
Moreover, the division of numbers into parcels of three figures, each
classed under different names, will render the reading them much
clearer: it is easier to say four billions than four thousand
millions.
[End excerpt]


Website: UK Parliament - House of Commons Library
Article: What is a billion? And other units
Date: Published Friday, 23 January, 2009

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn04440/

[Begin excerpt]
What is a billion?
What constitutes a billion is a source of occasional confusion.  In
official UK statistics the term is now used to denote 1 thousand
million – 1,000,000,000.  Historically, however, in the UK the term
billion meant 1 million million – 1,000,000,000,000 – but in the
United States the term was used to refer to 1 thousand million. The US
value had, however, become increasingly used in Britain and the Prime
Minister, Harold Wilson confirmed in a written reply in 1974 that the
meaning of “billion” would be thousand-million, in conformity with
international usage.
[End excerpt]

Garson

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