What 𐢫 means
It is the cruciform form of the Nabataean numeral four.
Nabataean numerals ran right to left and usually added signs to build values. This form appears only in some inscriptions, in phrases for four; it does not build five through nine. Its outline is numerical; shape alone does not establish a religious meaning.
How did the Nabataean numeral system develop?
An early Nabataean inscription dates to about 170 BCE. The numeral system is attested from about 100 BCE through the late fourth century CE, on inscriptions, pottery sherds, coins, and economic documents.
Nabataean writing developed from Aramaic; a cursive Nabataean form later developed into Arabic script. That script relationship does not make Nabataean numerals the source of the early Arabic numeral system.
A possible link to the Kharosthi four, an ancient Indian numeral, remains tentative. An X-shaped four also appears in eighth-century BCE Samaria, but resemblance alone does not prove descent. Greek alphabetic numerals, and less often Roman numerals, later replaced Nabataean notation.
Historical notation, suited to reproducing Nabataean numerals.
Its cross-shaped outline marks a numeral; do not read it as a general cross.
Part of the collection
Who writes 𐢫
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Don't confuse it with
1
Questions people ask
1Why does 𐢫 show as a box on some devices?
Not every system ships a font for the Nabataean block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.
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How to type or find 𐢫
- Search it as
- Nabataean numeral · Nabataean four · Nabatean · cruciform four · ancient numeral
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𐢫\108ABCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.