Long and short scales

Long scale is the English translation of the French term "échelle longue", which designates a system of numeric names in which the word billion means a million millions.

Related Topics:
English - French - Billion

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Short scale is the English translation of the French term "échelle courte", which designates a system of numeric names in which the word billion means a thousand millions.

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For most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Great Britain uniformly used the long scale, while the United States of America used the short scale, so the two systems were often (and accurately at that time) referred to as "British" and "American" usage, respectively. However, by the end of the 20th century, almost all English-speaking countries had universally adopted the short scale, so the phrases "British usage" and "American usage" are now misleading.

Related Topics:
Nineteenth - Twentieth centuries - Great Britain - United States of America

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Both systems have been used in France at various times in history, but France has now settled with the long scale, in common with most other European languages.

Related Topics:
France - Europe

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:Usage note: some Wikipedia articles use the terms "long scale" and "short scale," although they are not presently standard terms in English, because they are unambiguous and easily understood, and because there is no better substitute.

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