Several monumental inscriptions created in the early 20th century use variant forms for "1900" (usually written MCM). The year 1910 is rendered as MDCCCCX, rather than the more usual MCMX The year number on Admiralty Arch, London. Isaac Asimov once mentioned an "interesting theory" that Romans avoided using IV because it was the initial letters of IVPITER, the Latin spelling of Jupiter, and might have seemed impious. However, this is far from universal: for example, the clock on the Palace of Westminster tower, Big Ben, uses a subtractive IV for 4 o'clock. Modern clock faces that use Roman numerals still very often use IIII for four o'clock but IX for nine o'clock, a practice that goes back to very early clocks such as the Wells Cathedral clock of the late 14th century. For example, on the numbered gates to the Colosseum, IIII is systematically used instead of IV, but subtractive notation is used for XL so that gate 44 is labelled XLIIII. The two conventions could be mixed in the same document or inscription, even in the same numeral. The additive forms for 9, 90, and 900 ( VIIII, LXXXX, and DCCCC ) have also been used, although less often. While subtractive notation for 4, 40 and 400 ( IV, XL and CD) has been the usual form since Roman times, additive notation to represent these numbers ( IIII, XXXX and CCCC) continued to be used, including in compound numbers like XXIIII, LXXIIII, and CCCCLXXXX. Prior to the introduction of Arabic numerals in the West, ancient and medieval users of the system used various means to write larger numbers see Large numbers below.įorms exist that vary in one way or another from the general standard represented above.Ī typical clock face with Roman numerals in Bad Salzdetfurth, Germany The largest number that can be represented in this notation is 3,999 ( MMMCMXCIX), but since the largest Roman numeral likely to be required today is MMXXII (the current year) there is no practical need for larger Roman numerals. 2014 = MM + X + IV = MMXIV (the year of the games of the XXII (22nd) Olympic Winter Games (in Sochi, Russia)).
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1954 = M + CM + L + IV = MCMLIV (as in the trailer for the movie The Last Time I Saw Paris).1918 = M + CM + X + VIII = MCMXVIII (the first year of the Spanish flu pandemic).1776 = M + DCC + LXX + VI = MDCCLXXVI (the date written on the book held by the Statue of Liberty).In practice, Roman numerals for large numbers are currently used mainly for year numbers, as in these examples:
These are the only subtractive forms in standard use.Ī number containing two or more decimal digits is built by appending the Roman numeral equivalent for each, from highest to lowest, as in the following examples:Īny missing place (represented by a zero in the place-value equivalent) is omitted, as in Latin (and English) speech: Subtractive notation is also used for 40 ( XL), 90 ( XC), 400 ( CD) and 900 ( CM). The numerals for 4 ( IV) and 9 ( IX) are written using "subtractive notation", where the first symbol ( I) is subtracted from the larger one ( V, or X), thus avoiding the clumsier ( IIII, and VIIII). The following table displays how Roman Numerals are usually written:
Copyright law (where an "incorrect" or ambiguous numeral may invalidate a copyright claim, or affect the termination date of the copyright period) it is desirable to strictly follow the usual style described below. On the other hand, especially where a Roman numeral is considered a legally binding expression of a number, as in U.S. Even the post-renaissance restoration of a largely "classical" notation has failed to produce total consistency: variant forms are even defended by some modern writers as offering improved "flexibility". Usage in ancient Rome varied greatly and became thoroughly chaotic in medieval times. In fact, there has never been an officially binding, or universally accepted standard for Roman numerals. This structure allows for significant flexibility in notation, and many variant forms are attested. Tally-like combinations of these fixed symbols correspond to the (placed) digits of Arabic numerals. Roman numerals are essentially a decimal or "base ten" number system, but instead of place value notation (in which place-keeping zeros enable a digit to represent different powers of ten) the system uses a set of symbols with fixed values, including "built in" powers of ten.