Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example:
In many European languages there are two principal systems, taken from Latin and Greek, each with several subsystems; in addition, Sanskrit occupies a marginal position. [upper-alpha 2] There is also an international set of metric prefixes, which are used in the world's standard measurement system.
In the following prefixes, a final vowel is normally dropped before a root that begins with a vowel, with the exceptions of bi-, which is extended to bis- before a vowel; among the other monosyllables, du-, di-, dvi-, and tri-, never vary.
Words in the cardinal catgegory are cardinal numbers, such as the English one, two, three, which name the count of items in a sequence. The multiple category are adverbial numbers, like the English once, twice, thrice, that specify the number of events or instances of otherwise identical or similar items. Enumeration with the distributive catgegory originally was meant to specify one each, two each or one by one, two by two, etc., giving how many items of each type are desired or had been found, although distinct word forms for that meaning are now mostly lost. The ordinal catgegory are based on ordinal numbers such as the English first, second, third, which specify position of items in a sequence. In Latin and Greek, the ordinal forms are also used for fractions for amounts higher than 2; only the fraction 1 / 2 has special forms.
The same suffix may be used with more than one category of number, as for example the orginary numbers secondary and tertiary and the distributive numbers binary and ternary.
For the hundreds, there are competing forms: Those in -gent-, from the original Latin, and those in -cent-, derived from centi-, etc. plus the prefixes for 1 through 9 .
Many of the items in the following tables are not in general use, but may rather be regarded as coinages by individuals. In scientific contexts, either scientific notation or SI prefixes are used to express very large or very small numbers, and not unwieldy prefixes.
Number | Latin derived | Greek [upper-alpha 3] derived | Sanskrit [upper-alpha 2] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinal | Multiple | Distributive | Ordinal | Cardinal | Multiple, proportional, or quantitative | Ordinal | ||
0 | nulli- | nullesim- | miden-, ouden- | — | medeproto-, oudeproto- | shūnya- | ||
1/ 12 | unci- [1] | — | Greek uses ordinals to name fractions; (i.e. dodecato-) | — | ||||
1 / 8 | octant- | — | — | — | As above; ogdoö– | — | ||
1 / 6 | sextant- | — | — | — | As above; hecto | — | ||
1 / 5 | quintant- | — | — | — | As above; pempto– | — | ||
1 / 4 | quadrant- | — | — | — | As above; tetarto– | — | ||
1 / 3 | trient- | — | — | — | As above; trito– | — | ||
1 / 2 | semi- | — | demi- [upper-alpha 4] | — | hemi- ("half") [lower-alpha 1] | — | — | — |
3 / 4 | dodrant- | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1 | uni- [lower-alpha 2] sol- [upper-alpha 5] [lower-alpha 3] | sim- [upper-alpha 6] | singul- | prim- | mono- ("one", "alone") [lower-alpha 4] holo- ("entire", "full") [lower-alpha 5] hen- [upper-alpha 7] rare | mono- ("one, alone") hapax- ("once") haplo- [upper-alpha 7] ("single") monad- ("one of a kind", "unique", "unit") | prot- [2] [lower-alpha 6] protaio- ("[every] first day") | eka- [3] |
1 + 1 / 4 | — | quasqui- [lower-alpha 7] | — | — | — | — | — | — |
1 + 1 / 2 | — | sesqui- [lower-alpha 8] | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2 | du- | bi-, bis- [lower-alpha 9] | bin- | second- | di-, dy-, [4] duo-, dyo- | dis- [5] ("twice") common dyakis- ("twice") rare diplo- ("double") dyad- ("two of a kind") | deuter- [6] [lower-alpha 10] deuteraio- ("[every] second day") | dvi- [7] |
2 + 1 / 2 | — | sester- [lower-alpha 11] semiquin- [lower-alpha 12] | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3 | tri- [lower-alpha 13] | ter- | tern-, trin- | terti- | tri- [lower-alpha 14] | tris- [8] ("thrice") common triakis- ("thrice") rare triplo- ("triple") triad- ("three of a kind") | trit- [9] ("third") [lower-alpha 15] tritaio- ("[every] third day") | tri- [10] |
4 | quadri-, quadru- [upper-alpha 8] | quater- [12] | quatern- [13] | quart- [14] | tetra-, tessara- | tetrakis- ("four times") tetraplo- ("quadruple") tetrad- ("four of a kind") [lower-alpha 16] | tetarto- ("fourth") tetartaio- ("[every] fourth day") | catur- [15] |
5 | quinque- [16] | — | quin- [17] | quint- [18] | penta- | pentakis- pentaplo- pentad- [lower-alpha 17] | pempt- [19] pemptaio- | pañca- [20] |
6 | sexa- [upper-alpha 9] | — | sen- [21] | sext- [22] | hexa- [23] | hexakis- hexaplo- hexad- [lower-alpha 18] | hect- [24] hectaio- | ṣaṭ- [25] |
7 | septem-, septi- [lower-alpha 19] | septen- [26] | septim- | hepta- [27] [lower-alpha 20] | heptakis- heptaplo- heptad- | hebdomo- ("seventh") hebdomaio- ("seventh day") [lower-alpha 21] | sapta- [28] | |
8 | octo- [lower-alpha 22] | — | octon- [29] | octav- [30] | octo- [lower-alpha 23] | octakis- octaplo- octad- [lower-alpha 24] | ogdoö- ogdoaio- | aṣṭa- |
9 | novem- [lower-alpha 25] | noven- | nona- | ennea- [31] | enneakis- enneaplo- ennead- | enat- [32] enataio- | nava- | |
10 | decem-, dec- [lower-alpha 26] | den- [33] | decim- [34] | deca- [35] [lower-alpha 27] | decakis- decaplo- decad- | decat- [36] decataio- | dasha- | |
11 | undec- | unden- [37] | undecim- [38] | hendeca- [39] | hendeca/kis/plo/d- | hendecat- [40] /o/aio- | ekadasha- | |
12 | duodec- | duoden- [lower-alpha 28] | duodecim- | dodeca- [41] [lower-alpha 29] | dodeca/kis/plo/d- | dodecat- [42] /o/aio- | dvadasha- | |
13 | tredec- | treden- | tredecim- | tria(kai)deca-, decatria- [lower-alpha 30] | tris(kai)decakis-, decatria/kis/plo/d- | decatotrito- etc. | trayodasha- | |
14 | quattuordec- | quattuorden- | quattuordecim- quartadecim- | tessara(kai)deca-, decatettara-, decatessara- | tetra(kai)decakis-, decatetra/kis/plo/d- [lower-alpha 31] | decatotetarto- | chaturdasha- | |
15 | quinquadec-, quindec- [43] | quinden- [44] | quindecim- [45] quintadecim- | pente(kai)deca-, decapente- | penta(kai)decakis-, decapentakis- etc. | decatopempto- | panchadasha- | |
16 | sedec-, [46] sexdec- (but hybrid hexadecimal ) | seden- | sedecim- sextadecim- | hexa(kai)deca-, hekkaideca-, decahex- | hexa(kai)decakis-, decahexakis- etc. | decatohecto- | shodasha- | |
17 | septendec- | septenden- | septendecim- septimadecim- | hepta(kai)deca-, decahepta- | hepta(kai)decakis-, decaheptakis- etc. | decatohebdomo- | saptadasha- | |
18 | octodec- | octoden- | octodecim- duodevicesim- | octo(kai)deca-, decaocto- | octa(kai)decakis-, decaoctakis- etc. | decatoogdoö- | ashtadasha- | |
19 | novemdec-, novendec- undeviginti- | novemden- novenden- | novemdecim- novendecim- undevisim- | ennea(kai)deca-, decaennea- | ennea(kai)decakis-, decaenneakis- etc. | decatoenato- | navadasha- | |
20 [upper-alpha 10] | viginti- | vicen-, vigen- | vigesim- | (e)icosi- | eicosa/kis/plo/d- [lower-alpha 32] | eicosto- | vimshati- | |
22 | duovigint- | (e)icosidyo-, dyo(e)icosi- rare [lower-alpha 33] | (e)icosidyakis- (e)icosidiplo- (e)icosidyad- | eicostodeutero- | — | |||
24 | quattuorvigint- | (e)icositettara-, (e)icosikaitettara- rare | (e)icositetrakis- (e)icositetraplo- (e)icositetrad- [lower-alpha 34] | eicostotetarto- | chaturvimshati- | |||
25 | quinvigint- | (e)icosipente- [lower-alpha 35] | (e)icosipentakis- (e)icosipentaplo- (e)icosipentad- | eicostopempto- | — | |||
30 | triginti- | tricen- | trigesim- | triaconta- | triacontakis- etc. [lower-alpha 36] | triacosto- | trimshat- | |
31 | untriginti- | triacontahen- | triacontahenakis- triacontahenaplo- triacontahenad- | triacostoproto- triacostoprotaio- | — | |||
40 | quadraginti- | quadragen- | quadragesim- | tettaraconta-, tessaraconta- | tettaracontakis-, tessaracontakis- etc. | tessaracosto- | chatvarimshat- | |
50 | quinquaginti- [47] | quinquagen- [48] | quinquagesim- [49] | penteconta- [lower-alpha 37] | pentecontakis- etc. | pentecosto- [lower-alpha 38] | panchashat- | |
60 | sexaginti- | sexagen- | sexagesim- | hexeconta- | hexecontakis- etc. | hexecosto- | shasti- | |
70 | septuaginti- [lower-alpha 39] | septuagen- | septuagesim- [50] | hebdomeconta- | hebdomecontakis- etc. | hebdomecosto- | saptati- | |
80 | octogint- | octogen- | octogesim- | ogdoëconta- | ogdoëcontakis- etc. | ogdoëcosto- | ashiti- | |
90 | nonagint- | nonagen- | nonagesim- | eneneconta- | enenecontakis- etc. | enenecosto- | navati- | |
100 | centi- | centen- | centesim- | hecato(n)- | hecatontakis- hundred times hecatontaplo- hundred-multiple hecatontad- hundred of a kind also abbreviated in hec[aton]tad- | hecatosto- hundredth hecatostaio- the hundredth day | shata– | |
120 | viginticenti- | — | — | hecaton(e)icosi- | hecaton(e)icosakis- etc. | hecatostoeicosto- | — | |
150 | — | sesquicenten- [lower-alpha 40] | — | — | — | — | — | |
200 | ducenti- | ducen-, bicenten- | ducentesim- | diacosia- | diacosakis- etc. | diacosiosto- | — | |
250 | — | semiquincenten- [lower-alpha 41] | — | — | — | — | — | |
300 | trecenti- | trecen-, tercenten-, tricenten- | trecentesim- | triacosia- etc. | triacosakis- triacosaplo- triacosad- | triacosiosto- | — | |
400 | quadringenti- | quadringen-, quatercenten-, quadricenten- | quadringentesim- | tetracosia- | tetracosakis- etc. | tetracosiosto- | — | |
500 | quingent-, [51] quincent- [52] | quingen-, [53] quingenten-, quincenten- | quingentesim- [54] | pentacosia- | pentacosakis- etc. | pentacosiosto- | — | |
600 | sescenti-, sexcenti- | sescen-, sexcenten- | sescentesim- | hexacosia- | hexacosakis- etc. | hexacosiosto- | — | |
700 | septingenti- | septingen-, septingenten-, septcenten- | septingentesim- | heptacosia- | heptacosakis- etc. | heptacosiosto- | — | |
800 | octingenti- | octingen-, octingenten-, octocenten- | octingentesim- | octacosia- | octacosakis- etc. | octacosiosto- | — | |
900 | nongenti- | nongen- | nongentesim- | ennacosi- [55] derived from en(n)iacosia-, a pejoration of enneacosia- | enneacosakis- etc. | enacosiost-, [56] alt. spelling en(n)iacosiost(o)- a pejoration of enneacosiosto- | — | |
1000 | milli- | millen- | millesim- | khili-, [57] kilo- | khiliakis- khiliaplo- chiliad- | chiliost- [58] | sahasra– | |
2000 | duomilli | — | — | diskhili- [59] | diskhiliakis- etc. | diskhiliosto- | — | |
3000 | tremilli- | triskhili- [60] | — | triskhiliost- [61] | — | |||
5000 | quinmilli– | pentaciskhili- [62] | — | — | — | |||
10000 | decamilli– | myria-, [63] [lower-alpha 42] decakiskhilia- | myriakis- myriaplo- myriad- decakiskhiliakis- etc. | myriast-, [64] decakiskhiliosto- | ayuta– | |||
80000 | octogintmilli– | octacismyri- [65] | — | — | — | |||
100000 or 105 | centimilli– | decakismyria-, hecatontakiskhilia- | decakismyriakis-, hecatontakiskhiliakis- | etc. | laksha– | |||
1000000 or 106 | — | hecatommyria- (see also mega-) | hecatommyriakis- ("a million times") hecatommyriaplo- (million-multiple) hecatommyriad- (a million of a kind) | hecatommyriosto- (ranked millionth; also one piece of a million [fraction] see above in fractions) hecatommyriostaio- ("the millionth day") | — | |||
∞ | infini- | — | — | — | apeiro- | — | ||
Few | pauci- [lower-alpha 43] | — | oligo- [lower-alpha 44] | — | — | — | ||
Many (more than 1) | multi-, pluri- [lower-alpha 45] | — | poly- [lower-alpha 46] | pollakis- (many times) pollaplo- (multiple) plethos- (many of a kind) [lower-alpha 47] | pollosto- (rank/order of many [manieth]) | bahut– |
Because of the common inheritance of Greek and Latin roots across the Romance languages, the import of much of that derived vocabulary into non-Romance languages (such as into English via Norman French), and the borrowing of 19th and 20th century coinages into many languages, the same numerical prefixes occur in many languages.
Numerical prefixes are not restricted to denoting integers. Some of the SI prefixes denote negative powers of 10, i.e. division by a multiple of 10 rather than multiplication by it. Several common-use numerical prefixes denote vulgar fractions.
Words containing non-technical numerical prefixes are usually not hyphenated. This is not an absolute rule, however, and there are exceptions (for example: quarter-deck occurs in addition to quarterdeck). There are no exceptions for words comprising technical numerical prefixes, though. Systematic names and words comprising SI prefixes and binary prefixes are not hyphenated, by definition.
Nonetheless, for clarity, dictionaries list numerical prefixes in hyphenated form, to distinguish the prefixes from words with the same spellings (such as duo- and duo).
Several technical numerical prefixes are not derived from words for numbers. (mega- is not derived from a number word, for example.) Similarly, some are only derived from words for numbers inasmuch as they are word play. (Peta- is word play on penta-, for example. See its etymology for details.)
The root language of a numerical prefix need not be related to the root language of the word that it prefixes. Some words comprising numerical prefixes are hybrid words.
In certain classes of systematic names, there are a few other exceptions to the rule of using Greek-derived numerical prefixes. The IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry, for example, uses the numerical prefixes derived from Greek, except for the prefix for 9 (as mentioned) and the prefixes from 1 to 4 (meth-, eth-, prop-, and but-), which are not derived from words for numbers. These prefixes were invented by the IUPAC, deriving them from the pre-existing names for several compounds that it was intended to preserve in the new system: methane (via methyl, which is in turn from the Greek word for wine), ethane (from ethyl coined by Justus von Liebig in 1834), propane (from propionic, which is in turn from pro- and the Greek word for fat), and butane (from butyl, which is in turn from butyric, which is in turn from the Latin word for butter).
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language.
Rajendra is popular Hindu given name. It is derived from the Sanskrit rājendra 'lord of kings', 'supreme sovereign', which is a compound of the words rāja 'king' and indra 'supreme'.
Anupama is a Hindu feminine given name. In Sanskrit, it means "incomparable", or "excellent".
Hira, or Heera, is a South Asian given name. The Sanskrit word hīrā has several meanings, one of which is "diamond".
Dinesh is a common Hindu male given name. The Sanskrit word dineśa is a compound of dina 'day' and īśa 'lord', meaning 'day-lord', an epithet of the Sun. Notable people with the name include:
Devendra is a common Indian masculine given name. It comes from Sanskrit devendra 'chief of the gods', which has been used as an epithet of the Vedic god Indra.
Svetlana is a common Orthodox Slavic feminine given name, deriving from the East and South Slavic root svet, meaning "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure", "blessed", or "holy", depending upon context similar if not the same as the word Shweta in Sanskrit.
Anirban or Anirvan is an Indian masculine given name. It is mostly used in the Bengali and Assamese languages. The meaning of the Sanskrit word anirvāṇa is "the fire that never stops" or "unextinguished". Notable people with this name include:
The hasta is a traditional Indian unit of length, measured from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It equals 24 aṅgulas orᅠ about 18 inches, about 45 centimetres.
Vibha is an Indian feminine given name. The Sanskrit word vibhā has the meaning of "shining, bright".
Akhila is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian given name, which means "everything" or "complete".
Wrightia antidysenterica, the coral swirl or tellicherry bark, is a flowering plant in the genus Wrightia. Wrightia antidysenterica is sometimes confused with the species Holarrhena pubescens due to a second, taxonomically invalid publication of the name Holarrhena pubescens. It is known in Sanskrit as kuṭaja or ambikā.
Rakesh is a masculine given name of Indian origin. It is derived from the Sanskrit language.
Naveen or Navin is an Indian and Pakistani male given name and surname. The word means "new", "young", "bright", "creative". Naveen is chiefly used in Indian languages, and its origin is Sanskrit. It is derived from the element 'Navina' meaning new. The name 'Navina' is the female form of Naveen.
Abhinava is an Indian given name. The Sanskrit word abhinava has the meaning "new". Abhinava also means innovative, young, modern, fresh.
Upendra is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word upendra is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi was born subsequently to Indra.
Neeraj or Niraj is a Hindu masculine given name. The Sanskrit word nīraja is a compound of nīra 'water' and -ja 'born' and has the primary meaning of 'lotus'. The same Sanskrit word can also be a compound of nis- 'without' and raja 'dust', 'emotion', with the overall meaning 'free from dust' or 'free from passion'
Kanaka is an Indian given name. The Sanskrit word kanaka has the primary meaning "gold". Notable persons with the name include:
Lakshan is a South Asian masculine given name. Some of the meanings of the Sanskrit word lakṣaṇa are "mark, sign", "aim, goal", "lucky mark". A related feminine given name is Lakshanya.
Vidyut is an Indian masculine/feminine given name. The Sanskrit word vidyut has several meanings including "electric current" "shining, glittering", "lightning" and "the dawn". Notable people with this name are: