"million" in seven languages
Meaningmillion
Spanish
millón
/miˈʝon/
borrowed · Italian milione
French
million
/miljɔ̃/
borrowed · Italian milione
Italian
milione
/miˈljone/
inherited
Mille plus the augmentative -one: 'a big thousand'.
Portuguese
milhão
/miˈʎɐ̃w/
borrowed · Italian milione
Romanian
milion
/miliˈon/
borrowed · French million / Italian milione
A neuter noun: un milion, două milioane.
Catalan
milió
/miliˈo/
borrowed · Italian milione
English
million
/ˈmɪljən/
from Latin/French · Old French million (from Italian milione)
English → ItalianmillionmilioneCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
MĪLLE‘thousand’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A medieval Italian invention — literally 'a great thousand' — that merchants carried to all of Europe. All three take de/di before a noun: un millón de personas.
English relatives: million, millionaire
Learn it
In a sentence
- esAquí viven un millón de personas.
- frUn million de personnes vivent ici.
- itQui vivono un milione di persone.
- ptUm milhão de pessoas mora aqui.
- roAici locuiesc un milion de oameni.
- caAquí hi viu un milió de persones.
- enA million people live here.