DUODECIMAL NUMERALS


 

Duodecimal numerals form a numeration system based on 12. The Romans, to whom the number 12 was sacred, used the duodecimal system in dividing the foot and pound into twelfths and the year into months. The words inch and ounce come from a Latin word meaning twelfth. The system used by merchants in counting by the dozen and by the gross (12 dozen or 144) is called a duodecimal system. The word dozen comes from a Latin word meaning twelve. Some writers arg ue that a duodecimal system could be used more easily than the decimal system, because 12 has more factors than 10.

 

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