longscale

Long scale is a system for naming very large numbers in which the name for each successive large number above a million denotes a thousand times the previous one. In this system, million equals 10^6, milliard equals 10^9, billion equals 10^12, billiard equals 10^15, trillion equals 10^18, and so on. Thus 10^12 is called a billion, and 10^18 a trillion, unlike the short scale used in modern English where 10^9 is a billion and 10^12 a trillion. The long scale continues with 10^21 trilliard, 10^24 quadrillion, etc., with each step multiplying by 1,000.

Historical usage: The long scale originated in early modern Europe, and it was widely used in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and many other languages through the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 19th and 20th centuries, English-speaking countries adopted the short scale; today, the long scale remains standard in some European languages for formal or historical texts, but for international communication, the short scale is typically preferred in English and in many contexts.

Impact and note: Because the names of very large numbers can be confusing when translating between scales, it is important to specify the scale used when communicating large numbers to avoid misinterpretation.