from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
nano- \nan"o-\ (n[a^]n"[-o]-), pref.
1. A prefix meaning one-billionth; as, a nanogram is
one-thousandth of a microgram.
[PJC]
2. Very small; submicroscopic; -- used to designate sizes
smaller than those that would be referred to as {micro-};
as, nanoscale manipulations.
[PJC]
from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
nano
/nan'oh/, n.
[CMU: from nanosecond] A brief period of time. "Be with you in a nano"
means you really will be free shortly, i.e., implies what mainstream
people mean by "in a jiffy" (whereas the hackish use of `jiffy' is
quite different -- see {jiffy}).