vigesimal
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /vɪˈd͡ʒɛsɪm(ə)l/
ipa: /vaɪ-/
ipa: /-sə-/
Etymology: From Latin vīcēsimus (“twentieth”) (from *vīcēnssos, from Proto-Indo-European *wi(h₁)ḱm̥ttós, with the -imus ending of decimus (“tenth”)) + -al (suffix forming an adjective). Compare Latin vīgintī (“twenty”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁wih₁ḱm̥ti, from *dwi(h₁)dḱm̥ti(h₁), *dwi(h₁)dḱm̥ti (“two tens; two decades”).
Senses: examples: text: For indeed, looking at the activity of the historic Pen and Press through this last half-century, and what bulk of History it yields for that period alone, and how it is henceforth like to increase in decimal or vigesimal geometric progression,—one might feel as if a day were not distant, when perceiving that the whole Earth would not now contain those writings of what was done in the Earth, the human memory must needs sink confounded, and cease remembering!— […]
ref: 1899, Thomas Carlyle, “On History Again”, in Critical and Miscellaneous Essays: In Five Volumes, volume III, London: Chapman and Hall Limited, →OCLC, page 172:
glosses: Occurring in intervals of twenty.
examples: text: To go on by hands and feet to 20, and thence to reckon by twenties, is a vigesimal notation. Now though in the larger proportion of known languages, no distinct mention of fingers and toes, hands and feet, is observable in the numerals themselves, yet the very schemes of quinary, decimal and vigesimal notation remain to vouch for such hand-and-foot counting having been the original method on which they were founded.
ref: 1871, Edward B[urnett] Tylor, “The Art of Counting”, in Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Art, and Custom. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, →OCLC, page 236:
text: The most remarkable vigesimal scale of numeration is that of the Mexicans. The decimal scale is adopted as far as twenty; that is to say, after ten the primitive digits are repeated, but from twenty onwards the numbers are taken by twenties. Thus 34 is canlahhutukal, literally fourteen and twenty.
ref: 1875, James A[llanson] Picton, “On the Origin and History of the Numerals”, in Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, volume XXIX, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, & Dyer; Liverpool: D. Marples & Co. Limited, Lord Street, →OCLC, page 87:
text: With regard to the Danish numeral-words founded on the vigesimal system of numeration, it must be admitted that here the explanation fails which has been given for the divergence of the forms representing 70, 80 and 90 from the forms representing the lower numerals of 10 in the case of some other languages, since in the present case the forms for 50 and 60 also depart from the decimal system; […]
ref: 1923, Melius de Villiers, “Aryan Numeral-words”, in The Numeral-words: Their Origin, Meaning, History and Lesson, London: H. F. & G. Witherby, 326 High Holborn, London, W.C.; Cape Town; Johannesburg; Port Elizabeth: Juta & Co., →OCLC, page 93:
text: [I]t is not known whether they [the Maya] progressed beyond a "vigesimal point" to negative powers of 20, i.e. to vigesimal fractions.
ref: 1970, Petr Beckmann, “The Belt”, in A History of π (Pi), Boulder, Colo.: The Golem Press, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1971, →ISBN, page 34:
topics: arithmetic
glosses: To the base twenty.
Synonyms: vicesimal
vigenary
vicenary
vicenarious
Derived terms: vigesimally
vigesimation