GR 215: Milliards of francs

[Paul Cray]

Thanks, Mark!

Which OED edition do you have access to? I would be surprised if there were
no uses of the word in C20th. I wonder where Pynchon came from across the
word. The passage suggests it might be directly from the French, but, of
course he could easily have come across it somewhere else. It's the kind of
word that might crop up in early/mid-century scientific world or sf.

Recall, natch, the old franc.

"In 1960, the new franc (*nouveau franc*) was introduced,[22]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_franc#cite_note-24> worth 100 old
francs."

There is a James Bond novel I recall reading (probably "On Her Majesty's
Secret Service") in which Bond is at a casino and thinks for tonight I will
think in old francs and be a millionaire. A million old francs is 10,000
new ones or ~£1000, which would be ~$2500 in the early 1960s. A milliard
old francs would then be $2.5M roughly.

Paul

On Sat, 28 Mar 2020 at 21:06, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> At your service.
>
> French root as we know....defined in the OED as a thousand million.
>
> Earliest citation in English is 1793,,,,in which 'regal and
> ecclesiastical plunder"is said
> to be four milliards.
>
> Byron used it in 1803 and last use is DEUTSCH...1879...
>
> On Sat, Mar 28, 2020 at 4:52 PM Paul Cray <pmcray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> https://blog.harwardcommunications.com/2013/05/21/the-difference-between-milliard-and-billion/
>>
>>
>> Billion meant 10^12 in British English up until the early 1970s. I
>> remember the irksome discussions around the topic when I was a child. I
>> certainly knew of the term "milliard", but I don't know how much it was
>> ever used non-knowingly. The citations in the OED, if anyone has access to
>> that, would make it clear one way or the other.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> On Sat, 28 Mar 2020 at 15:44, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Mirriam Webster says *British......*
>>>
>>> and defines as a thousand millions...
>>>
>>> On Sat, Mar 28, 2020 at 11:39 AM <bulb at vheissu.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Sure thanks I know (French being my 2nd language).  My question is:
>>> does
>>> > the word exist in English?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > From: Mark Thibodeau <jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com>
>>> > Sent: zaterdag 28 maart 2020 16:33
>>> > To: Michel <bulb at vheissu.net>
>>> > Cc: waste <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>> > Subject: Re: GR 215: Milliards of francs
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Dunno why I posed this in the form of a question. French is my first
>>> > language, and yes, "milliard" is "en Francais" for "billion".
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > yer old pal Jerky LeBoeuf, Acadian Esq.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Sat, Mar 28, 2020 at 11:30 AM Mark Thibodeau <
>>> jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com
>>> > <mailto:jerkyleboeuf at gmail.com> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Billion, no?
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Sat, Mar 28, 2020 at 11:30 AM <bulb at vheissu.net <mailto:
>>> > bulb at vheissu.net> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> > GR 215:
>>> >
>>> > "No traffic whispering in the circular driveways, no milliards of
>>> francs
>>> > being wagered because of a woman or an entente of nations at any of the
>>> > tables inside."
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Are there any known uses of "milliard" in English as English? (and
>>> yes, am
>>> > aware of milliard being French for trillion)
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Michel.
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>> >
>>> --
>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>
>>