To be more precise, Justin cited both definitions as being of French origin. (Again, as Rowlett does.) The emphasis is, of course, on origin, not on current usage.
Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] -----Original Message----- From: Bill Potts [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2001 08:49 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: RE: [USMA:15778] Re: Large numbers and SI vs. currencies I just checked Rowlett's page. Justin quoted him correctly. As Rowlett did, he cited billion for 10^9 as being of French origin (... French mathematicians of the 1600's ...) . He did not say it was the current French usage. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Joseph B. Reid Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2001 08:36 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:15778] Re: Large numbers and SI vs. currencies J. Jih in USMA 15774 misquotes Rowlett who makes it clear that the European billion is 10^12. >See this page at http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/large.html and both >European and "American" >definitions of a billion are of French origin. In practice, anything over >trillion is rarely used. Joseph B.Reid 17 Glebe Road West Toronto M5P 1C8 TEL. 416-486-6071
