quetta-

See also: Quetta

English

SI prefix
Q Previous: ronna-
Next: n/a

Etymology

Blend of q (an arbitrarily chosen initial letter) + Latin decem (ten) + -ta (to match the final syllable of most SI prefixes from peta- upwards).

Coined in 2022 as an expansion to the metric prefixes beyond 10±24. Some popular unofficial terms already in use were hella-, bronto-, and xenna-, but terms beginning with the same letters as existing prefixes would not be ideal (a, c, d, e, f, g, h, k, m, n, p, t, y, or z), nor would terms beginning with extremely common scientific letters like b or x. Additionally, the common use of B for billion made it less desirable. Richard J. C. Brown suggested the new terms begin with the letters r and q due to their rarity as unit symbols, be similar to the Greek or Latin numbers for 9 and 10 (as 1027 and 1030 when written have nine and ten groups of zeroes, respectively), and end in either "‑a" for the large prefixes, or "‑o" for the small prefixes. He proposed ronna-, ronto-, quecca-, and quecto-.[1] These were eventually adopted, with quecca‑ changed to quetta-.[2]

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkwɛ.tə/
  • (file)

Prefix

quetta-

  1. In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 1030 (a short scale nonillion or long scale quintillion). Symbol: Q

Antonyms

Translations

References

Further reading

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