Arabic numerals

The traditional name given to the mathematical symbols: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Using these symbols, every number can be expressed in the decimal system (cf. Numbers, representations of). These numerals arose in India (not later than the 5th century), in Europe they became known in the 10th–13th centuries through Arabic works (hence the name).