Definition of millionth

The English word "millionth" is derived from the words "million" and "th". The term "million" originally came from the Latin word "mille", meaning "thousand". During the Middle Ages, this Latin word was adopted in various European languages, including Old French, where it was pronounced as "miler". In Middle English, the word "miler" also acquired the meaning of "mile", which is believed to have come from the Latin "mille passes", meaning "a thousand paces". By the 16th century, the word "million" was established in English, first being used in written records in 1548. The term "th" originated in Old English, where it meant "four". In Roman numerals, "IV" represented the number four. Over time, the letter "th" evolved to represent both "four" and the sound "th" in words like "thin" and "thing". The combination of "million" and "th" to form "millionth" first appeared in English in the late 17th century. It was used to describe the hundredth position in a collection of a million items, i.e. The item in the millionth position would be the millionth item, and the item in the nine hundred thousandth position would be the millionth item minus one hundred thousand items, or the millionth item's hundredth part, or the millionth item's thousandth part minus one hundred thousandth part, which would make it the millionth item's "millionthth" part. Today, the term "millionth" is most commonly used to describe the position of the one-millionth part in a collection of a million items.