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numeral, symbol denoting number. The decimal system is believed to have originated in counting on the fingers, using both hands as the most convenient method. Arabic numerals are 1, 2, 3, 4, … . Roman numerals are I, II, III, IV, … . Both the Arabic and the Roman symbols are believed to be related to this method: 1 or I is one finger, 2 or II is two fingers, and 3 or III is three fingers. The word "digit" is from the Latin digitus, meaning "finger." Some of the symbols are less easily explained, but V seems to be the open hand, and X seems to be two open hands. The Roman system has no symbol for zero, and in the Arabic system zero is much more recent than the other symbols. The Maya, who were skilled in mathematics, had a symbol for zero. The symbols called Arabic were learned from Arabs by Europeans, but they apparently originated in India. Some languages show traces of reckoning by units other than ten, e.g., 8, 12, 20. In the case of 20, the toes as well as the fingers may have been used in counting.
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