Lacs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand; a term used primarily in South Asian contexts to quantify large amounts; sometimes spelled as 'lakhs' to denote this quantity
2. Representing a numerical figure equivalent to 100,000 in South Asian countries; used in financial, population, and statistical data to express large values; interchangeable with 'lakhs' in English transliteration
3. Denoting a measure of one hundred thousand units commonly employed in India and neighboring regions; serves as a convenient numeric scale for large counts; often appears in documentation related to finance and demographics

Etymology: The word "lacs" is the plural of "lac", and it names a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand. Its root lies in Hindi and other Indo-Aryan languages, where the word "lakh" (or "lakkh") carries that same value. English borrowed the term from South Asian usage, and the plural form "lacs" became the standard way to write sums such as "two lacs of rupees," a convention that rests on the Indian system's grouping of large numbers into lakhs and crores rather than the thousands-based grouping used in English. The English spelling "lac" also has a separate, unrelated origin in the lac resin used for varnishes, which should not be confused with this numerical sense. Readers meeting the two forms in print will find the numerical "lacs" appears most often in Indian and South Asian English, where it is still common in financial and demographic reporting.

Synonyms: hundreds of thousands, lakhs