Re: Types of numerals

On 1/3/06, caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...> wrote:
>Senjecan has a vigesimal system, so there would be 19 digits.
I believe you mean twenty.  A base N system has N digits, which
represent either 0 through N-1 (as in the customary decimal system) or
1 through N.

> AHD:  [definition of 'numeral'] "A symbol, such as a letter, figure, or word used alone or in a
> group to denote a number."  Letter: the Roman numerals, Greek
> letters.  Figure: 1, 2, 3, etc.  Word: pi; would this include words
> like "three"?
My intuition and experience (same thing, I suppose) say no, but the
definition would seem to include it.

And "figure" is a good word I didn't include in my earlier list, but
I'm not sure of its precise meaning.  Outside of set phrases (like a
"figure eight" in ice skating), the use of that word for digits and/or
numerals (not sure which) is quite unnatural in my 'lect.  It sounds
archaic, but it could also be British - same thing, really. ;-)  It's
in the same category as "nought" for the digit zero - as opposed to
"ought" with the same meaning, which is restricted in my personal
experience to use by Jethro Bodine and kin.

--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>