At 08:35 PM 3/26/2001 +0000, Bob_Hallissy@... wrote:

>How did the term "Arabic numerals" come to be used for digits that aren't,
>well, Arabic?

The numeric system employing these figures -- i.e. a decimal system with
explicit zero -- came to Europe from Arabic lands, hence the name. The
actual form of the figures, even in the earliest sources I have seen
(Italian, 16th Century), are quite different from the forms used by the
Arabs today, but I have not compared contemporary samples. My guess is that
both traditions diverged graphically in the intervening centuries.

John Hudson

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