Home > 4 (number)
- This article discusses the number Four. Four is also the name of a French commune, Four, Isère .
4 (four) is the natural numberNatural number can mean either a positive integer ( 1, 2, 3, 4,. or a non-negative integer ( 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,. Natural numbers have two main purposes: they can be used for counting ("there are 3 apples on the table"), or they can be used for ordering ("this following 33 three is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4. Prefixes for 3 include tri- ( Greek) and tre- Latin. Evolution of the glyph Three is often the largest number written with as many lines as the number represents. Even the Romans tired of writing and preceding 55 (five) is the natural number following 4 and preceding 6. Prefixes for 5 include penta- ( Greek) and quinque- / quint- ( Latin). The SI prefix for 10005 is peta (P), and for its reciprocal femto (f). Evolution of the glyph The evolution of our modern gl. Prefixes for 4 include tetra- ( GreekNumerical prefixes can be used to construct words that refer to a specific quantity of something. For example, in chemistry, carbon dioxide refers to a molecule containing two (di) oxygen atoms. A tetrahedron is a polyhedron with four (tetra) identical fa) and quad- ( LatinThese numerical prefixes are from the Latin language: Whole numbers 1. tri- or tre- 4. quadri- 5. quinque- 6. septua- 8. nona- 10. deci- 20. vigen- 100. cent- 1000. mill- Fractions 1/2. semi- 3/2. sesqui- See also Greek numerical prefixes.).
1 Evolution of the glyph
Representing 1, 2 and 3 in as many lines as the number represents worked well enough, but with 4 writing four lines began to appear tiresome. The BrahminA Brahmin (less often Brahman is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. The word is related to but not to be confused with Hindu religious conception of the transcendent and immanent supersoul (God, not a god) " Brahman"; the word Brahmin literally means O Indians simplified 4 by joining its four lines into a cross that looks like our modern plus sign. The Sunga and other Indians would add a horizontal line on top of the numeral, and the Kshatrapa and Pallava evolved the numeral to a point where speed of writing was at best a secondary concern. The Arabs didn't have time for cursive fancy: their 4 still had the early concept of the cross, but for the sake of efficiency, was made in one stroke by connecting the "western" end to the "northern" end; the "eastern" end was finished off with a curve. The Europeans dropped off the finishing curve and gradually made the numeral less cursive, ending up with a glyph that could have evolved in a much simpler way than the convoluted route it actually took: by simply taking the Brahmin cross and adding a line to connect its "western" and "northern" ends.
