Roman numerals
From Metapedia
Roman numerals are a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, adapted from Etruscan numerals. The system used in classical antiquity was slightly modified in the Middle Ages to produce the system we use today. It is based on certain letters which are given values as numerals.
Roman numerals are commonly used today in numbered lists (in outline format), clockfaces, pages preceding the main body of a book, chord triads in music analysis, the numbering of movie publication dates, successive political leaders or children with identical names, and the numbering of some sport events, such as the Olympic Games or the Super Bowl.
For arithmetics involving Roman numerals, see Roman arithmetic and Roman abacus.
[edit] Symbols
| Symbol | Value |
|---|---|
| I | 1 (one) |
| V | 5 (five) |
| X | 10 (ten) |
| L | 50 (fifty) |
| C | 100 (one hundred) |
| D | 500 (five hundred) |
| M | 1000 (one thousand) |
Multiple symbols may be combined to produce numbers in between these values, subject to certain rules on repetition. In cases where it may be shorter, it is sometimes allowable to place a smaller, subtractive, symbol before a larger value, so that, for example, one may write IV or iv for four, rather than iiii. Sometimes, especially in medical prescriptions, a final i becomes j, such as iij for 3 or vij for 7. This was originally done to prevent forgery. Again, for the numbers not assigned a specific symbol, the above given symbols are combined:
- II or ii for two.
- III or iii for three
- IV or iv for four
- V or v for five
- VI or vi for six
- VII or vii for seven
- VIII or viii for eight
- IX or ix for nine
- X for 10
- XI or xi for eleven
- XXXII or xxxii for thirty-two
- XLV or xlv for forty-five
The Basic Roman Numerals follow a pattern:
Row 1 I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX Row 1 X 1O X XX XXX XL L LX LXX LXXX XC Row 1 X 100 C CC CCC CD C DC DCC DCCC CM Row 1 X 1000 M MM MMM
