Jehan Adam
Encyclopedia
Jehan Adam was a French
mathematician who flourished in the 15th century. He was secretary to Nicholle Tilhart, who was notary
, secretary
and auditor of accounts to King Louis XI of France
.
He published a manuscript in 1475 containing the first use of the terms by-million and tri-million, which gave rise to the modern terms billion and trillion. His usage referred to the long scale
values of 1012 and 1018 respectively. These terms have subsequently been revalued in English to the short scale
values 109 and 1012 respectively, although the original values remain in long scale countries.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
mathematician who flourished in the 15th century. He was secretary to Nicholle Tilhart, who was notary
Notary
A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents...
, secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
and auditor of accounts to King Louis XI of France
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
.
He published a manuscript in 1475 containing the first use of the terms by-million and tri-million, which gave rise to the modern terms billion and trillion. His usage referred to the long scale
Long and short scales
The long and short scales are two of several different large-number naming systems used throughout the world for integer powers of ten. Many countries, including most in continental Europe, use the long scale whereas most English-speaking countries use the short scale...
values of 1012 and 1018 respectively. These terms have subsequently been revalued in English to the short scale
Long and short scales
The long and short scales are two of several different large-number naming systems used throughout the world for integer powers of ten. Many countries, including most in continental Europe, use the long scale whereas most English-speaking countries use the short scale...
values 109 and 1012 respectively, although the original values remain in long scale countries.
- "... item noctes que le premier greton dembas vault ung, le second vault [...here some words seem to be omitted...] cent, le quart vult mille, le Ve vault dix M, le VIe vault cent M, le VIIe vault Milion, Le VIIIe vault dix Million, Le IXe vault cent Millions, Le Xe vault Mill Millions, Le XIe vault dix mill Millions, Le XIIe vault Cent mil Millions, Le XIIIe vault bymillion, Le XIIIIe vault dix bymillions, Le XVe vault mil bymillions, Le XVIe vault mil bymillions, Le XVIIe vault dix Mil bymillions, Le XVIIIe vault cent mil bymillions, Le XIXe vault trimillion, Le XXe vault dix trimillions ..."
- ... Also note that the first counter from the bottom stands for one, the 2nd stands for [...] one hundred, the 4th stands for one thousand, the 5th stands for ten thousand, the 6th stands for one hundred thousand, the 7th stands for a million, the 8th stands for ten millions, the 9th stands for one hundred millions, the 10th stands for one thousand millions, the 11th stands for ten thousand millions, the 12th stands for one hundred thousand million, the 13th stands for a billion, the 14th stands for ten billions, the 15th stands for one hundred [the "mil" in the original is an obvious error] billions, the 16th stands for one thousand billions, the 17th for ten thousand billions, the 18th stands for hundred thousand billions, the 19th stands for a trimillion, the 20th stands for ten trimillions ...