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mega-

 

pref.
  1. Large: megadose.
  2. Surpassing other examples of its kind; extraordinary: megahit.
  3. One million (106): megahertz.
  4. 1,048,576 (220): megabyte.

[Greek, from megas, great.]


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a prefix meaning 'great', continues to be used in scientific and technical applications, often with the specific meaning 'denoting a factor of one million' (as in the computing unit megabyte and in the statistical term megadeath denoting the deaths of a million people). In the 20th century it took on a more informal role in words such as megastar, megahit, megastore, and megabucks (a huge amount of money), and became detached in the form mega, meaning 'excellent' or (as an adverb) 'extremely':
It has never been my ambition to be mega famous or mega rich-I've just wanted to make a living—People, 2007.

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[Etymology: Gk: ‘great’] Symbol M-. (Metric) The 106 multiplier, e.g. 1 megajoule = 1 MJ = 106 J; contractable to meg- before a vowel, e.g. 1 megohm = 1 MΩ = 106 Ω.

informatics Sometimes 1 048 576 = 220, but see mebi- then kibi-.

(1) Million (10 to the 6th power). Abbreviated "M," it is a prefix for capacities and speeds (megabits, megabytes, megahertz, etc.). Mega may refer to 1,000,000 or 1,048,576, the latter based on the binary system (see NIST binary). See MB, meg, binary values and space/time.

(2) A prefix attached to common, non-computer words that means a very large size or quantity. For example, "megabucks" means a lot of money. Both "mega" and "giga" are used in this manner, although mega means million and giga means billion. See giga.

(3) (MEGA) A brand name for various models of Atari's ST and STE personal computers. See ST and Atari.

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Metric prefix denoting multiplication by 10 6 or 1,000,000. In measuring the capacity of computer disks and RAM, equivalent to x2 20 or 1,048,576.

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categories related to 'mega-'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to mega-, see:

Mega or MEGA may refer to:

Contents

Science

Television

Radio

Fiction

  • Mega, a fictional character from The Tribe (1999–2003) played by Calen Maiava Paris

Music

Magazine

Lottery

  • Mega Millions, a major jackpot game in the U.S.; it rivals Powerball

Trading

Business

Places

Persons

Other uses


Translations:

Mega-

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Dansk (Danish)
pref. - (forstav.) vældig stor, kæmpestor

Français (French)
pref. - (préf) méga- (dans les composés) signifiant très/extrêmement, million

Deutsch (German)
pref. - mega-, Mega...

Ελληνική (Greek)
pref. - μεγα-

Español (Spanish)
pref. - mega

Svenska (Swedish)
pref. - mega-

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
大, 百万倍

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
pref. - 大, 百萬倍

한국어 (Korean)
pref. - 매우 큰

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(بادئه الكلم- ه) مليار‏

עברית (Hebrew)
pref. - ‮גדול, פי מיליון‬


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Some good "mega-" pages on the web:


Math
mathworld.wolfram.com
 
 
 

 

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Fowler's Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press. © 1999, 2004 All rights reserved.  Read more
Oxford Dictionary of Units & Measures. A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units. Copyright © Donald Fenna 2002, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
TechEncyclopedia. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2012 The Computer Language Company Inc.  All rights reserved.  Read more
Barron's Business Dictionary. Dictionary of Business Terms. Copyright © 2007 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
The Jargon File's Guide to Hacker Slang. The Jargon File. Copyright © 2007.  Read more
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