Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Francis Schonken (talk | contribs) at 08:56, 29 December 2005 (I'm not interested in the still continuing edit warring, but please use the correct disambig sentence, and maybe have a look at talk:arabic numerals#New intro and page lay-out proposal). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Otheruses2

This article is about the Hindu-Arabic numeral symbols. For the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, see Hindu-Arabic numeral system.

Hindu-Arabic numerals (also known as Arabic numerals, Indo-Arabic numerals, Hindu numerals, European numerals, and Western numerals) are the most common set of symbols used to represent numbers around the world. They are considered an important milestone in the development of mathematics.

Origins of the symbols

See also: History of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system

Hindu-Arabic numerals are commonly known as "Arabic numerals". The latter term is a misnomer, since what are known in the English as "Arabic numerals" trace their origin to India, where they made their gradual appearance from about the 3rd century BC. The numerals reached Europe, albeit after further evolution, through the Arabs, hence the misnomer. The Arabs referred to these numerals as the "Indian numerals", أرقام هندية, arqam hindiyyah.

The numerals drifted over time to the west of India and were mentioned in Syria in the 7th century. They were widely popularised throughout the emerging Arab empire that then stretched from India to Spain by the writings of Persian and Arab mathematicians such as Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Uqlidisi, and Al-Kindi. The Arab mathematician (973-1048 AD) Al-Biruni wrote

What we use for numerals is a selection of the best and most regular figures in India.

In Europe, the numerals were first mentioned in Spain, then mostly under Arab rule, in the Codex Vigilanus of 976. Their use was advocated by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci in his famous work Liber Abaci of 1202, who studied them in northeastern Algeria. The European acceptance of the numerals was accelerated by the invention of the printing press, and by the middle of the 16th century most of Europe had accepted them.

Description

It is interesting to note that, like many numbering systems, the numbers 1, 2, and 3 represent simple tally marks. 1 being a single line, 2 being two lines (now connected by a diagonal) and 3 being three lines (now connected by two vertical lines). After three, numbers tend to become more complex symbols (examples are the Chinese/Japanese numbers and Roman numerals). Theorists believe that this is because it becomes difficult to instantaneously count objects past two.

The Arabic numeral system has used many different sets of symbols. These symbol sets can be divided into two main families — namely the West Arabic numerals, and the East Arabic numerals. East Arabic numerals — which were developed primarily in what is now Iraq — are shown in the table below as Arabic-Indic. East Arabic-Indic is a variety of East Arabic numerals. West Arabic numerals — which were developed in al-Andalus and the Maghreb —are shown in the table, labelled European. (There are two typographic styles for rendering European numerals, known as lining figures and text figures).

Table of numerals

References

• History of Counting Systems and Numerals. Retrieved 11 December 2005.
• The Evolution of Numbers. 16 April 2005.
• O'Connor, J. J. and Robertson, E. F. Indian numerals. November 2000.

External links

• History of the Numerals
  • Arabic numerals:
  • Hindu-Arabic numerals:

• Numeration
• Elementary mathematics
• Arabic language