If you’re not familiar with Roman Numerals, you’re not alone. The Romans used this system as a standard for writing numbers, and it was the preferred way to write numbers in Europe for centuries. Essentially, Roman numerals are numbers represented by Latin alphabet letters. This system has been in use for centuries, and it can be useful for counting or displaying the time. However, it’s important to understand that it’s not the only system.
A Brief History of Roman Numerals
The first use of Roman numerals was in counting. Ancient Romans counted in groups of five, but they also used symbols. The Greek letter X was later replaced by the Latin letter L. This led to the use of X for ten, which became the symbol for that number. The X’s name was derived from the Latin word for ten, quincunx. And the symbols of one to nine were based on the first and second letter of the Greek word for ten.
Despite this, many people still have issues with using Roman numerals in everyday life. It’s important to remember that it’s not just the Romans who invented the system, but other civilisations also created systems for counting, including the Etruscans. Despite their widespread use, there’s still no official standard for using Roman numerals. In fact, if you want to use them correctly, you should use Arabic numbers instead of Roman ones.
About the author