De terminologie voor « cijfer » in rekenkundige teksten der latere Middeleeuwen

Abstract

SUMMARY: In Arithmeticae summa of Georgius de Hungaria, printed at Schoonhoven, 1499 is stated that locus, limes, differentia and figura are used for one and the same thing. The Latin word figura has the same meaning as the English word figure, a sign or symbol to denote some numerical value. The Dutch word for figura is cijfer, just like chiffre (French) and Ziffer (German). Synonyms of figura are character elementum and litera inda. Locus is used to express, in a written number, the place of a figure between others. The same meaning have mansio, statio and species, although the use of these is known in only one case. The word differentia expresses that the value of a figure differs according to the place of that figure between others. This fact is a consequence of the new manner to write a number in the decimal positional system. So « scribe numerum per suas differentias » is the usual way to say, during the second half of the middle ages : write a number by his figures. which figures have different values according to their place. Limes is the word to denote the various orders in a number, the units (the first limes), the tens (the second limes), the hundreds (the third limes) and so on.