Arabic numerals

The ten Arabic numerals 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are the most commonly used symbols for writing numbers. The term often also implies a positional notation using the numerals, as well as the use of a decimal base, in particular when contrasted with other systems such as Roman numerals. However, the symbols are also used to write numbers in other bases such as octal, as well as for writing non-numerical information such as trademarks or license plate identifiers.

They are also called Western Arabic numerals, Ghubār numerals, Hindu–Arabic numerals,^[1] Western digits, Latin digits, or European digits.^[2] The Oxford English Dictionary differentiates them with the fully capitalized Arabic Numerals to refer to the Eastern digits.^[3] The term numbers or numerals or digits often implies only these symbols, however this can only be inferred from context.

Europeans first learned of Arabic numerals about the 10th century, though their spread was a gradual process. Two centuries later, in the Algerian city of Béjaïa, the Italian scholar Fibonacci encountered the numerals; his 13th century work Liber Abaci was crucial in making them known throughout Europe. Until the evolution of the printing press in the 15th century, use of Arabic numerals in Europe was mainly confined to Northern Italy.^[4] European trade, books, and colonialism subsequently helped popularize the adoption of Arabic numerals around the world. The numerals have found worldwide use significantly beyond the contemporary spread of the Latin alphabet, and have become common in the writing systems where other numeral systems existed previously, such as Chinese and Japanese numerals.