bil·lon

(bĭl′ən)

1. An alloy of gold or silver with a greater proportion of another metal, such as copper, used in making coins.

2. An alloy of silver with a high percentage of copper, used in making medals and tokens.

[French, from Old French, ingot, from bille, log; see billet².]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

billon

(ˈbɪlən)

1. (Metallurgy) an alloy consisting of gold or silver and a base metal, usually copper, used esp for coinage

2. (Metallurgy) any coin made of such an alloy

[C18: from Old French: ingot, from bille log; see billet²]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bil•lon

(ˈbɪl ən)

n.

1. an alloy of gold or silver with a larger amount of base metal, esp. copper.

2. an alloy of silver with copper, used for coins of small denomination.

[1720–30; < French: debased metal]

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References in periodicals archive

Office worker Aneta Kicala, 21, from Poland; Unemployed Eric Bullock, 52, of Middlesbrough; Gerald Sullivan, a 39-year-old civil engineer of Middlesbrough; Steven Billon, a 17-year-old student of Middlesbrough; David Whiteland, an 18-year-old floor fitter from Middlesbrough; IT worker John Clarkson, 26, from Leeds

Your Views; DO YOU think that fireworks should be taken off general sale as a safety precaution?

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Five billon years ago, adds Dressler, large clusters were at the peak of their formation, pulling in the biggest amount of matter.

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120 billon. The cigarettes companies profit had further increased and added in 2015 the FBR's revenue figured to Rs 114 billion and it decreased to Rs 88 billion in 2016.

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On the other hand subsidy allocation for WAPDA has been cut short by Rs 63 billion and now only Rs 84 billon will be provided instead of Rs 147 billion against subsidy in the upcoming fiscal 2010-11.

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Meanwhile, November sales at 28 department stores run by 13 companies in the Tokyo area fell for the second month in a row, dropping 0.7 percent to 171.5 billon yen.

Japan dept. store sales in Nov. fall 0.2%, 2nd straight monthly fall

So it was refreshing when Steven Billon bravely opened his heart to the Evening Gazette three years ago about the ordeal he suffered as a teenager.

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Over the next billon years, he calculates, the gas already in the Milky Way, along with the material added by the intruder galaxy, cooled down and formed new stars.

Milky Way's last major merger: new clues about galaxy formation thicken the plot

KARACHI, December 24, 2009 (Balochistan Times): Riaz Lalji of Abbas Steel Group of companies, through his counsels has issued a notice to Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to pay a sum of Rs one billon to him in connection with wrong statement given on behalf of PSM before Supreme Court (SC) on November, 25 which has defamed him immensely in the case of Rs 22 billion loss to PSM.

PSM served damage notice for payment of Rs one billion to Riaz Lalji for filing defamatory statement in SC

Meanwhile, October sales at 28 department stores run by 13 companies in the Tokyo area also fell back, shrinking 1.3 percent to 157.21 billon yen for the first fall in two months.

Japan department store sales fall 1.9% in Oct., 1st fall in 2 months