Re: specialized numbers

Almaran Dungeonmaster <dungeonmaster@...> wrote:

> [...]
>
> Most confusing is the term for 4 and 5 in elven and human. Originally,
> both
> used a word that meant "a hand full". However, since elves have four
> fingers
> to a hand, while humans have five, that became somewhat of a problem,
> especially in regions where many elves and humans lived together.
> Regional
> variations came into existence, so "elfhand" is now the literal
> translation
> for the word for 4, while "manhand" is the word for 5. A very special
> case
> is the dialect word for 9 used in the central kingdoms of Oriënil Empire,
> which means, literally translated, "one of each" (one manhand and one
> elfhand).
Interesting!  What is the base of the mixed system?  An obvious choice
would be 20 (4*5).

Jörg.

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