nano-

nano-
—combining form
1.	n denoting 10--9: nanosecond
2.	indicating extreme smallness: nanoplankton
[from Latin nānus dwarf, from Greek nanos]

nano- pref.

1. Extremely small: nanoid.

2. One-billionth (10-⁹): nanometer.

nano-   A prefix that means: Very small or at a microscopic level, as in nanotube. In this sense, this prefix is sometimes spelled nanno-, as in nannoplankton. One billionth, as in nanosecond, one billionth of a second.

nano-

pref. [SI: the next quantifier below micro-; meaning * 10^(-9)] Smaller than micro-, and used in the same rather loose and connotative way. Thus, one has nanotechnology (coined by hacker K. Eric Drexler) by analogy with `microtechnology'; and a few machine architectures have a `nanocode' level below `microcode'. Tom Duff at Bell Labs has also pointed out that "Pi seconds is a nanocentury". See also quantifiers, pico-, nanoacre, nanobot, nanocomputer, nanofortnight.

nano- definition

/nan'oh/ 1. A prefix meaning 10^-9 or one billionth.
Used loosely to mean "small", e.g. nanotechnology, or (rarely), following "nanosecond", to mean a short time, e.g. "I'll be with you in a nano".
[Jargon File]
(2002-03-02)