Word of the Day

: August 20, 2007

chiliad

noun KILL-ee-ad

What It Means

1 : a group of 1000

2 : millennium

chiliad in Context

Many people feared that widespread technical glitches would create chaos at the start of the new chiliad.

Did You Know?

What's the difference between a chiliad and a millennium? Not much: both words refer to a period of 1000 years. While "millennium" is more widely used, "chiliad" is actually older. It first appeared in 1598 and was originally used to mean "a group of 1000," as in "a chiliad of errors." "Millennium" didn't make its way into written English until the 1630s. Not surprisingly, both words trace back to roots that mean "thousand." "Millennium" comes from the Latin "mille," and "chiliad" is a descendent of the Greek "chilioi."

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.