one billion; the factor 10: gigaton
Origin of giga-
from Classical Greek gigas, giantgiga-
giga-Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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giga-
prefix
- One billion (109): gigahertz.
- 1,073,741,824 (230): gigabyte.
Origin of giga-
From Greek gigās giantTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"giga-." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga>.
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giga-. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga
- A prefix that means:
- One billion (109), as in gigahertz, one billion hertz.
- 230 (that is, 1,073,741,824), which is the power of 2 closest to a billion, as in gigabyte.
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"giga-." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga>.
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giga-. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga
Prefix
- In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 109. Symbol: G
- (computing) Multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 230 or 1,073,741,824
Usage notes
In computing, meaning is ambiguous between 109 = 1,000,000,000 and 230 = 1,073,741,824. For precision, gibi- specifically means the binary 230; see binary prefix for discussion.
Antonyms
Origin
From Ancient Greek γίγας (gigas, “giant”); cognate to giant.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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"giga-." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga>.
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giga- - Computer Definition
See G.
Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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"giga-." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga>.
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giga-. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga
(1) Billion (10 to the 9th power). Abbreviated "G," it is a prefix for capacities and speeds (gigabits, gigabytes, gigahertz, etc.). Giga may refer to 1,000,000,000 or 1,073,741,824, the latter based on the binary system (see NIST binary). See GB, gig, binary values and space/time.
(2) A prefix attached to common, non-computer words that means a very large size or quantity. For example, "gigabucks" means a lot of money. Both "giga" and "mega" are used in this manner, although giga means billion and mega means million. See mega.
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
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"giga-." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga>.
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giga-. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/giga
