number symbolism: 3: The number 3 is a very mystical and spiritual number featured in many folktales (three wishes, three guesses, three little pigs, three bears, three billy goats gruff). In ancient Babylon the three primary gods were Anu, Bel (Baal), and Ea, representing Heaven, Earth, and…

number symbolism: 12: The number 12 is strongly associated with the heavens—the 12 months, the 12 signs of the zodiac, and the 12 stations of the Moon and of the Sun. The ancients recognized 12 main northern stars and 12 main southern stars. There are 24 =…

number symbolism: 20: The number 20 has little mystical significance, but it is historically interesting because the Mayan number system used base 20. When counting time the Maya replaced 20 × 20 = 400 by 20 × 18 = 360 to approximate the number of days in…

number symbolism: 2: The number 2 symbolizes many of the basic dualities: me/you, male/female, yes/no, alive/dead, left/right, yin/yang, and so on. Dualities are common in human approaches to the world, probably because of our preference for two-valued logic—yet another duality, true/false. Although 2 was female to the…

zero, number denoting the absence of quantity. Represented by the symbol “0,” it plays a foundational role in arithmetic, algebra, computing, and scientific measurement. It lies at the center of the number line, separating positive numbers from negative numbers, and it operates as a placeholder in

Caryl Churchill: …explored issues of identity in A Number (2002), about a father and his cloned sons. For the drama, Churchill won her third Obie for playwriting. Also in 2002 she won an Obie for sustained achievement. Her subsequent works included Love and Information (2012), Escaped Alone (2016), and the short play…

mechanics: Units and dimensions: There are also important dimensionless numbers in nature, such as the number π = 3.14159 . . . . Dimensionless numbers may be constructed as ratios of quantities having the same dimension. Thus, the number π is the ratio of the circumference of a circle (a length) to its…

Nilo-Saharan languages: Morphology: Such number-marking systems occur in a wide variety of Nilo-Saharan languages, usually in a plethora of forms. As several of the attested number-marking suffixes are similar or identical in form across languages, they most likely go back to a common ancestor.

David Mitchell: Mitchell’s next book, Number9dream (2001), the story of a Japanese man searching for his missing father told in a manner that makes it unclear if the action takes place in reality or the narrator’s mind, also won measured praise from critics.

Numbered Treaties, (1871–1921), in Canadian history, a series of 11 treaties negotiated between the dominion and the country’s aboriginal nations. The treaties are named for the order of their negotiation: Treaty 1 (1871), Treaty 2 (1871), Treaty 3 (1873), and so forth. While they were neither the

Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible. The English title is a translation of the Septuagint (Greek) title referring to the numbering of the tribes of Israel in chapters 1–4. The book is basically the sacred history of the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness following the departure from

John Rechy: Rechy followed with Numbers (1967) and This Day’s Death (1969), both of which deal with obsession and identity. The Vampires (1971) concerns the nature of evil, and The Fourth Angel (1972) records the adventures of four thrill-seeking adolescents.

numbers game, the most widespread lottery game in the United States before lottery games were legalized in many states, though illegal wherever it is played. Patrons of the numbers game are drawn chiefly from the low-income classes. The player bets a trivial sum, usually amounting to less than one

Charles-Bernard Renouvier: …1834–36) prompted his “law of numbers.” He saw each number as unique, distinctly itself, irreducible, but related to all other numbers. By applying this principle of uniqueness to human beings, he thereby precluded their absorption into a group consciousness or absolute mind. Having rejected the notion of infinite numbers, he…

electric ray, any of the rays of the families Torpedinidae, Narkidae, Narcinidae, and Hypnidae, named for their ability to produce electrical shocks. They are found worldwide in warm and temperate waters. There are numerous species of electric ray; most inhabit shallow water, but some (Benthobatis)

Nouméa, city, port, and capital of the French overseas country of New Caledonia, southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the southwestern corner of the main island of New Caledonia. It was founded in 1854 as Port-de-France. It is situated on an excellent deepwater harbor protected by Nou Island and a reef.

Lågen, river, southeastern Norway. Rising in the Hardanger Plateau, the Lågen flows generally east and north, then southeast through Numedalen, a valley in Buskerud fylke (county), past Rødberg and Kongsberg, through Vestfold fylke and into the Skagerrak (an arm of the North Sea) at Larvik. With a

Roman religion: Veneration of objects: …Romans eventually employed the word numen, suggestive of a god’s nod, nutus; though so far there is no evidence that this usage was earlier than the 2nd century bce. The application of the word spirit to numen is anachronistic in regard to early epochs because it presupposes a society capable…

curlew, any of numerous medium-sized or large shorebirds belonging to the genus Numenius (family Scolopacidae) and having a bill that is decurved, or sickle-shaped, curving downward at the tip. There are eight species. Curlews are streaked, gray or brown birds with long necks and fairly long legs.

curlew: In the long-billed curlew (N. americanus), a western North American counterpart of the Eurasian curlew, the bill alone is about 20 cm (8 inches) long.

curlew: The common, or Eurasian, curlew (N. arquata), almost 60 cm (24 inches) long including the bill, is the largest European shorebird. This species breeds from Britain to Central Asia.

curlew: The Eskimo curlew (N. borealis) is one of the world’s rarest birds, a species now virtually extinct. It formerly bred in abundance in the Arctic and wintered on the Pampas of South America. The population of Eskimo curlews was severely diminished during the 19th century, when…

curlew: The eastern curlew (N. madagascariensis), the largest bird in the family, 60 cm (24 inches) long lives in Eastern Asia and Australia. The slender-billed curlew (N. tenuirostris), which formerly inhabited Eurasia and Africa, was declared extinct in 2024 by several conservation organizations.

curlew: The least curlew (N. minimus), of eastern Asia, is only 30 cm (12 inches) long.

Numenius of Apamea was a Greek philosopher chiefly responsible for the transition from Platonist idealism to a Neoplatonic synthesis of Hellenistic, Persian, and Jewish intellectual systems, with particular attention to the concept of ultimate being, or deity, and its relation to the material

curlew: The whimbrel (N. phaeopus), or lesser curlew, is the most widely distributed curlew, occurring both in the Old World and in the New World (as two distinct races). Eurasian whimbrels are white-rumped, but the North American race (formerly called the Hudsonian curlew) is dark-rumped.

curlew: The bristle-thighed curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) breeds in the mountains of Alaska and migrates some 6,000 miles (9,650 km) to winter on islands in the South Pacific.

slender-billed curlew, (Numenius tenuirostris), wide-ranging migratory shorebird once found in wetlands, grasslands, and intertidal areas on three continents. During the 20th century, the species inhabited Eurasia and Africa, likely migrating from breeding areas located in Central Asia to winter

numeral system, any of various sets of symbols and the rules for using them to represent numbers, which are used to express how many objects are in a given set. Thus, the idea of “oneness” can be represented by the Roman numeral I, by the Greek letter alpha α (the first letter) used as a numeral,

Numerals are the symbols used to represent small numbers, and numeral systems are collections of these symbols together with systems of rules for representing larger numbers. Just as the first attempts at writing came long after the development of speech, so the first efforts at the graphical

Opus Dei: Membership and activities: …members of Opus Dei, called numeraries, devote much of their time to the organization. Like priests, they are required to remain unmarried and celibate, but they live in the world and pursue secular occupations. The majority of members, however, are supernumeraries, who are free to marry, contribute financially to Opus…

arithmetic: Rational numbers: …and n is called the numerator (it enumerates the number of fractional units that are taken). The numerator and denominator together are called the terms of the fraction. A positive fraction n/d is said to be proper if n < d; otherwise it is improper.

Numerian was a Roman emperor from 283–284. He succeeded his father, Carus, in the summer of 283, in the midst of a war with the Sāsānians. Numerian was emperor in the East, and his brother, Carinus, ruled the West. Numerian led the army home but contracted a disabling eye disease. Late in 284,

numerical analysis, area of mathematics and computer science that creates, analyzes, and implements algorithms for obtaining numerical solutions to problems involving continuous variables. Such problems arise throughout the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, medicine, and business.

microscope: The theory of image formation: He designated the term numerical aperture (N.A.) as the measure of the objective’s ability to collect diffracted light and thus also of its power to resolve detail. On this basis it is obvious that the greater the magnification of the objective, the greater the required N.A. of the objective.…

numerical analysis, area of mathematics and computer science that creates, analyzes, and implements algorithms for obtaining numerical solutions to problems involving continuous variables. Such problems arise throughout the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, medicine, and business.

biblical literature: Proverbs: The “numerical sayings” (30:15–33) contain elements of riddle and show a special interest in the wonders of nature and the habits of animals. The “instruction of Lemuel” (31:1–9) is an example of the importance of maternal advice to a ruler in the ancient Near East. Lemuel…

postal system: Numerical speech translator: Another line of research being pursued in the United States is the development of equipment that translates five- and nine-digit ZIP codes and sorting-code numbers spoken by an operator into instructions for a sorting machine. Since this system obviates the need for…

taxonomy: Ranks: Some biologists believe that “numerical taxonomy,” a system of quantifying characteristics of taxa and subjecting the results to multivariate analysis, may eventually produce quantitative measures of overall differences among groups and that agreement can be achieved so as to establish the maximal difference allowed each taxonomic level. Although such…

weather forecasting: Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models: Thinkers frequently advance ideas long before the technology exists to implement them. Few better examples exist than that of numerical weather forecasting. Instead of mental estimates or rules of thumb about the movement of storms, numerical forecasts are objective calculations of changes to…

Jean-Luc Godard: Breathless and filmmaking style and themes: Numéro deux (1975; “Number Two”) was a video experiment about family life in contemporary France and the power of ideology and the media—and was commercially unsuccessful.

Umberto Eco: Numero Zero (2015) concerns a journalist hired to work for a mysterious propaganda publication. Pape Satàn aleppe, a collection of Eco’s columns for an Italian magazine, was published posthumously in 2016; its title is taken from a cryptic line in Dante’s The Divine Comedy.

numerology, use of numbers to interpret a person’s character or to divine the future. The theory behind numerology is based on the Pythagorean idea that all things can be expressed in numerical terms because they are ultimately reducible to numbers. Using a method analogous to that of the Greek and

Maghnia, town, northwestern Algeria, on the northern edge of the High Plateau (Hauts Plateaux), 8 miles (13 km) east of the border with Morocco. The modern town grew around a French redoubt built in 1844 on the site of the Roman post of Numerus Syrorum. It was named for the local Muslim saint Lalla

Gaafar Mohamed el-Nimeiri was a major general, commander of the armed forces, and president of Sudan (1971–85). After graduating from the Sudan Military College in 1952, Nimeiri acted as commander of the Khartoum garrison and led campaigns against rebels in southern Sudan. He joined in a number of

Numic languages, North American Indian languages spoken by Native Americans in what are now the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma. In the early 21st century, these languages were usually divided into three groups: Western Numic,

bird: Importance to man: Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) from Africa were also widely exported and kept not only for food but also because they are noisy when alarmed, thus warning of the approach of intruders.

Numidia, under the Roman Republic and Empire, a part of Africa north of the Sahara, the boundaries of which at times corresponded roughly to those of modern western Tunisia and eastern Algeria. Its earliest inhabitants were divided into tribes and clans. They were physically indistinguishable from

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was a Roman general during the Jugurthine War (111–105) and leader of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family, whose power had been established in the previous generation by his father, Metellus Calvus, and Calvus’s brother, Quintus Metellus Macedonicus. As one

guinea fowl, any of a family, Numididae (order Galliformes), of African birds that are alternatively placed by some authorities in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. The family consists of 7–10 species, one of which, Numida meleagris, is widely domesticated for its flesh and as a “watchdog” on farms

sacred: The emergence of the concept of the sacred: … man’s experience of the “numinous” (a mysterious, majestic presence inspiring dread and fascination), which Otto, a German theologian and historian of religions, claimed, could not be derived from anything other than an a priori sacred reality. Other scholars who used the notion of sacred as an important interpretive term…

coin collecting, the systematic accumulation and study of coins, tokens, paper money, and objects of similar form and purpose. The collecting of coins is one of the oldest hobbies in the world. With the exception of China and Japan, the introduction of paper money is for the most part a recent

Romulus and Remus: …of Rhea Silvia, daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa.

Aleksis Kivi: …plays are the rural comedies Nummisuutarit (1864; “Shoemakers of the Heath”), the story of the unsuccessful courting of a simple-minded and gullible youth, and Kihlaus (1867; “Fugitives”). Kivi’s Seitsemän veljestä (1870; Seven Brothers), the first novel written in Finnish, tells the story of some freedom-loving village youths who take to…

nummulite, any of the thousands of extinct species of relatively large, lens-shaped foraminifers (single-celled marine organisms) that were abundant during the Paleogene and Neogene periods (65.5 million to 2.6 million years ago). Nummulites were particularly prominent during the Eocene Epoch (55.8

nummulite: …in the Sahara is called nummulite limestone in reference to the great abundance of its contained fossil nummulites.

nummulite, any of the thousands of extinct species of relatively large, lens-shaped foraminifers (single-celled marine organisms) that were abundant during the Paleogene and Neogene periods (65.5 million to 2.6 million years ago). Nummulites were particularly prominent during the Eocene Epoch (55.8

aureus, basic gold monetary unit of ancient Rome and the Roman world. It was first named nummus aureus (“gold money”), or denarius aureus, and was equal to 25 silver denarii; a denarius equaled 10 bronze asses. (In 89 bc, the sestertius, equal to one-quarter of a denarius, replaced the bronze ass

coin: The later Byzantine empires: …shape, hence the name nummi scyphati (cup money); gold scyphati declined in purity until, under Nicephorus III (1078–81), they were very base. Silver remained generally scarce; the issue of bronze became uneven. New conventions in legends and types were introduced: Constantine IX (1042–55) showed on his silver an invocation to…

nun, woman who is a member of a monastic religious order or group. See

Nun, oldest of the ancient Egyptian gods and father of Re, the sun god. Nun’s name means “primeval waters,” and he represented the waters of chaos out of which Re-Atum began creation. Nun’s qualities were boundlessness, darkness, and the turbulence of stormy waters; these qualities were personified

nunbird, any of certain puffbird species. See

Elizabeth Barton was an English ecstatic whose outspoken prophecies aroused public opinion over the matrimonial policy of King Henry VIII and led to her execution. A domestic servant on the estate of William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, she fell ill and about 1525 began to experience trances

Nun River, river in southern Nigeria that is considered the direct continuation of the Niger River. After the Niger bifurcates into the Nun and Forcados rivers about 20 miles (32 km) downstream from Aboh, the Nun flows through sparsely settled zones of freshwater and mangrove swamps and coastal

Max Frisch: …Nun singen sie wieder (1946; Now They Sing Again), in which Surrealistic tableaux reveal the effects caused by hostages being assassinated by German Nazis. His other historical melodramas included Die chinesische Mauer (1947; The Chinese Wall) and the bleak Als der Krieg zu Ende war (1949; When the War Was…

The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, one of the 24 stories in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” is based on the medieval tale of Reynard the Fox, common to French, Flemish, and German literature. The protagonist of this mock-heroic story is Chanticleer, a rooster with seven

Fred Zinnemann: Films of the 1950s: …decade, the earnest and probing The Nun’s Story (1959), starred Audrey Hepburn in an Academy Award-nominated (for best actress) portrayal of a nun who braves the terrors of a mental hospital in Belgium, the rigours of the Belgian Congo, and the brutality of the Nazis before finally leaving her order…

Jacques Rivette: …next film, La Religieuse (1966; The Nun), enjoyed commercial success, aided by the fact that the French government banned it for a time because of its cynical look at the Roman Catholic Church. The film, which was based on a book by French philosopher and writer Denis Diderot, told the…

Denis Diderot: Novels, dialogues, and plays of Denis Diderot: La Religieuse describes the distressing and ultimately tragic experiences of a girl who is forced to become a nun against her will. In Jacques le fataliste, Jacques, who believes in fate, is involved in an endless argument with his master, who does not, as they…

nunatak, isolated mountain peak that once projected through a continental ice sheet or an Alpine-type ice cap. Because they usually occur near the margin of an ice sheet, nunataks were thought to be glacial refuges for vegetation and centres for subsequent reoccupation of the land. Later studies

Arctic: Ethnic groups: The Baffin Island, orBaffinland, Inuit (Nunatsiarmiut) were often included in the Central Eskimo, a grouping that otherwise included the Caribou Inuit (Kivallirmiut) of the barrens west of Hudson Bay and the Iglulik (Iglulingmuit), Netsilik (Netsilingmiut), Copper (Inuinnait), and Mackenzie Inuit (Inuvialuit), all of whom live on or near…

Newfoundland and Labrador: Toward confederation: …Inuit created the territory of Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador in 2005, and negotiations have continued with the Innu and, on the island, with the Mi’kmaq.

Greenland: Increasing autonomy and the question of independence: …four seats) along with the Nunatta Qitorna and Atassut parties. Roughly four months later, in October, Partii Naleraq withdrew from the coalition over differences related to funding upgrades of Greenland’s airports. Rather than call for a snap election, Kielsen remained at the helm of a minority coalition government comprising Siumut,…

Nunavut, vast territory of northern Canada that stretches across most of the Canadian Arctic. Created in 1999 out of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut encompasses the traditional lands of the Inuit, the Indigenous peoples of Arctic Canada; its name means “Our Land” in

Northwest Territories: History of the Northwest Territories: …change was embodied in the Nunavut Act, ratified in 1993. The act created the territory of Nunavut from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories. After a transitional period, Nunavut came into being on April 1, 1999.

Today in History—April 1: The Creation of Nunavut: Finally, in 1993 the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, the largest Indigenous land settlement in Canada’s history, passed. Work began on logistics, everything from license plates and a flag to electing the new legislative assembly.

The five-pointed star stands for the North Star, a beacon for travelers in the Arctic. The white and yellow colours, which are known as “metals” in heraldry, are unofficially said to represent snow and the sunrise, respectively. The two stripes are separated by an inuksuk, an anthropoid figure

nunbird, any of certain puffbird species. See

Nunc Dimittis, in the New Testament, a brief hymn of praise sung by the aged Simeon, who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Simeon was at the Temple in Jerusalem when Mary and Joseph came to present the infant Jesus for the rite of purification

Ernesto Sábato: …of the “Sábato Report” (1984; Nunca más [“Never Again”]), an investigation of human rights violations in Argentina, of which Sábato was the principal author. The document was vital in aiding the prosecution of military leaders responsible for the killings of some 10,000–30,000 citizens during the country’s Dirty War (1976–83). In…

nuncio, a Vatican representative accredited as an ambassador to a civil government that maintains official diplomatic relations with the Holy See. He promotes good relations between the government and the Holy See and observes and reports to the pope on the conditions of the Roman Catholic Church

inheritance: Formalities of wills: A nuncupative (orally declared) will is exceptionally admitted in some jurisdictions in emergency situations, such as those of the soldier on active war duty, the sailor on board ship, or a person finding himself in immediate danger of death.

Nuneaton and Bedworth, borough (district), administrative and historic county of Warwickshire, in the Midlands of central England. The town of Nuneaton (the administrative centre) seems to have grown around a 12th-century Benedictine nunnery, but the main impulse to growth and activity was coal

Mariza is a Mozambique-born Portuguese singer who popularized fado, a traditional Portuguese musical genre that combines a narrative vocal style with acoustic guitar accompaniment, to a global audience. Mariza and her family moved to Lisbon when she was age 3. There her parents ran a restaurant

Pedro Nunes was a mathematician, geographer, and the chief figure in Portuguese nautical science, noted for his studies of the Earth, including the oceans. Nunes was professor of mathematics at Lisbon and Coimbra and became royal cosmographer in 1529, when Spain was disputing the position of the

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish explorer who spent eight years in the Gulf region of present-day Texas. Núñez was treasurer to the Spanish expedition under Pánfilo de Narváez that reached what is now Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1528. By September all but his party of 60 had perished; it reached

Gaspar Núñez de Arce was a Spanish poet and statesman, once regarded as the great poet of doubt and disillusionment, though his rhetoric is no longer found moving. Núñez de Arce became a journalist and Liberal deputy, took part in the 1868 revolution, and was colonial minister for a time after the

Rafael Núñez was a three-time president of Colombia who dominated that nation’s politics from 1880 and ruled dictatorially until his death. Entering politics in the Liberal Party while in law school, Núñez aided in the drafting of Colombia’s first Liberal constitution (1853) while a member of

Sigrid Nunez is an American novelist and writer known for her spare, witty prose and oblique approach to existential themes of loneliness, mortality, and grief. Among her notable works is the novel The Friend (2018), which won the National Book Award. Born to a Chinese Panamanian father and a

Sino-Tibetan languages: Burmic languages: …and adjacent Myanmar resemble Kachin; Nung (including Rawang and Trung) in Kachin state in Myanmar and in Yunnan province, China, has similarities with Kachin; and Mikir in Assam, as well as Mru and Meitei (Meetei) in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, seem close to Kukish.

Charles Lindbergh: Early life and transatlantic flight: …War I French flying ace Charles Nungesser and his navigator François Coli disappeared after beginning their effort to collect the Orteig Prize by flying from Paris to New York. They were last sighted over Ireland several hours after takeoff. The loss of Nungesser, one of France’s most charismatic and decorated…

Nunivak Island, island in the Bering Sea off the southwestern coast of Alaska, U.S. It is 55 miles (90 km) long and 40 miles (65 km) wide and is the second largest island (1,600 square miles [4,000 square km]) in the Bering Sea. Separated from the mainland by Etolin Strait, the island is the site

Nunivak Island: The Nuniwarmiut are believed to have lived on the island for at least 2,000 years; an expedition of Russian explorers reached the island in 1821. Because shoals around the island made landing difficult, the Nuniwarmiut were able to maintain their traditions for a much longer period…

nunlet, any of certain puffbird species. See

Sam Nunn is a U.S. senator from Georgia (1972–97) and Democratic Party politician noted for his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and his authorship of several important pieces of legislation. Nunn, whose father was a lawyer and farmer, was the grandnephew of longtime U.S. Rep.

Sam Nunn is a U.S. senator from Georgia (1972–97) and Democratic Party politician noted for his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and his authorship of several important pieces of legislation. Nunn, whose father was a lawyer and farmer, was the grandnephew of longtime U.S. Rep.

Trevor Nunn is an English theatre director who, as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC; 1968–86) and the Royal National Theatre (RNT; 1997–2003), was known for his innovative stagings of Shakespeare’s works and commercially successful productions of popular musicals. Raised in a

Trevor Nunn is an English theatre director who, as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC; 1968–86) and the Royal National Theatre (RNT; 1997–2003), was known for his innovative stagings of Shakespeare’s works and commercially successful productions of popular musicals. Raised in a

Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR), plan developed by U.S. Senators Sam Nunn (Democrat, Georgia) and Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana) to assist Russia and other former Soviet states in dismantling and disposing of their nuclear weapons during the 1990s. In August 1991 a military coup nearly

Ine: In 710 Nunna, the king of the South Saxons, or Sussex, lent Ine aid against the Cornish Britons, but in 722 and 725 Ine took up arms against the South Saxons, who were harbouring a rival claimant to his throne. He abdicated and retired to Rome in…