Numerical digit

A numerical digit (often shortened to just digit) or numeral is a single <a href="/facts/Symbol/GS8mTn0h">symbol</a> used alone (such as "1"), or in combinations (such as "15"), to represent <a href="/facts/Number/auQSAE2m">numbers</a> in <a href="/facts/Positional_notation/31DECoN4">positional notation</a>, such as the common <a href="/facts/Base_10/7omfVNIM">base 10</a>. The name "digit" originates from the <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> digiti meaning fingers.
For any numeral system with an integer <a href="/facts/Radix/J5RGWRJF">base</a>, the number of different digits required is the <a href="/facts/Absolute_value/dwJBpEs5">absolute value</a> of the base. For example, decimal (base 10) requires ten digits (0 to 9), and <a href="/facts/Binary_number/a6JDSRPs">binary</a> (base 2) requires only two digits (0 and 1). Bases greater than 10 require more than 10 digits, for instance <a href="/facts/Hexadecimal/02ohQW22">hexadecimal</a> (base 16) requires 16 digits (usually 0 to 9 and A to F).

Numerical digit open-in-new

Numerical digit