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MM (euro amount)

English translation: billion

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French term or phrase:	MM
English translation:	billion
Entered by:	Karen Tucker

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23:29 Feb 12, 2004

French to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Finance (general)

French term or phrase: MM (euro amount)

This has probably been asked before, but I can't find it in the glossary and this is the first time I've encountered it. What does MM refer to after a euro figure, i.e. €20MM? Is it another way of indicating billion? The text previously uses M for million. Sorry if this is a repeat question. Thanks, Karen

Karen Tucker KudoZ activity Questions: 381 (none open) (5 closed without grading) Answers: 288 United States
Local time: 00:14

Milliard

Explanation:
I guess it stands for "milliard"

Selected response from:

Bruce Capelle
Spain
Local time: 06:14

Grading comment

Thanks, everyone! Based on the figures, it had to be more than a million. Karen
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +3

billion - maybe

Marian Greenfield

thousand million

Leveleki

3 +1

billion

CristinaPereira

2 +1

Milliard

Bruce Capelle

Answers

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Milliard

Explanation:
I guess it stands for "milliard"

Bruce Capelle
Spain
Local time: 06:14
Native speaker of:

French
PRO pts in category: 3

Grading comment

Thanks, everyone! Based on the figures, it had to be more than a million. Karen

17 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

billion

Explanation:
I would go for billion (milliard), but this is very strange... MM could be "mille millions", but that is not used neither in the English nor in the French system

But in Portugal we distinguish "one thousand millions" (1.000.000.000) from "billion" (1.000.000.000.000).

www.websters.com:

billion
- The cardinal number equal to 10 x 9.
- Chiefly British. The cardinal number equal to 10 x 12.

Hope to have helped. Sorry if I've confused you.

CristinaPereira
Portugal
Local time: 05:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 8

44 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

billion - maybe

Explanation:
normally, MM = Million. I've even run across French texts where M and MM were used (incorrectly) interchangeably.

US billion is thousand million in some countries. Used to be so in Britain, by I believe they pretty much use billion in the U.S. sense at this point (any Brit is welcome to correct me there).

Marian Greenfield
United States
Local time: 00:14
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 215

8 hrs confidence:

thousand million

Explanation:
As we are aware, a "billion" is originally an American English term, meaning one thousand million (i.e. 1,000,000,000). In England a "billion" USED to mean a million million (i.e. 1,000,000,000,000)but now the term billion is accepted internationally as a thousand million - except in Europe where it is very often still referred to as a "thousand million" = MM = mille millions. Hope that helps.

Leveleki
France
Local time: 06:14
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 7