Ethiopic Digit Five

It stands for five.

The Ethiopic script developed from a South Arabian writing system that recorded consonants. Numeral origins are disputed: the usual account links them to Greek, perhaps via Coptic, a Greek-based Egyptian script; a 2023 study argues for consonant-only Ge’ez letters and punctuation instead.

Which inscription is earliest is disputed: a comparative history dates Anza’s inscribed stone to the late third century; a 2023 study argues the Ḥənzat stone bears older signs, while earlier numbers were words. The sign appears in royal counts, scripture numbering, mathematics, astronomy, letters, and dates. In ፳፫፻፵፭, which means 2,345, ፭ adds five in the final hundred-based group. Manuscripts may omit one or both numeral bars; its value remains five.