numbedness 
numbedness (numd'nes), . [< numbed, pp. of 
n u nib, + -ness.} Numbness. 
Narcissus flowers . . . have their name from numbed- 
ness or stupefaction. Bacon, Physical Fables, xi., Expl. 
If the nerve he quite divided, the pain is little only a 
kind of stupor or numbedness. Wiseman, Surgery. 
number (uum'ber), n. [Also dial, nummer; < 
ME. nwnbre, nombre, number, noumbre, < Oi . 
nombre, F. nombre = Sp. numero = Pg. It. nume- 
ro = D. nommer = G. Dan. Sw. nummer, < L. - 
merits, a number, a quantity, in pi. numbers, 
mathematics, in gram, number, etc.; akin to 
Gr. v6uo(, law, custom, etc., a strain in music, 
etc., (veueiv, distribute, apportion: see name*, 
nome5.~\ 1. That character of a collection or 
plurality by virtue of which, when the indi- 
viduals constituting it are counted, the count 
ends at a certain point that is, with a certain 
numeral ; also, the point (or numeral) at which 
the count ends. See def . 3. 
It is said that before the Turkish capture Otranto num- 
bered twenty-two thousand inhabitants ; it has now hard- 
ly above a tenth of that number. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 323. 
2. Quantity or amount considered as an aggre- 
gate of the individuals composing it; aggregate. 
For tho ther was a Erie in the forest 
Which of children had a huge noumbre gret 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 87. 
The number of the dead long exceedeth all that shall 
live. Sir T. Browne, Urn-burial. 
3. A numeral, or word used in counting: other- 
wise called a cardinal number : as, the number 
that comes after 4 is 5 ; also, in a wider sense, 
any numerical expression denoting a quantity, 
magnitude, or measure. Euclid does not consider 
one as a number, Eamus makes it the lowest number, and 
modern mathematicians treat not only 1, but also 0, as a 
number. 
Yf ue coueiteth cure Kynde wol sow telle, 
That in mesure God made alle manere thynges, 
And sette hit at a sertayn and at a syker numbre, 
And nempnede hem names and nombrede the sterres. 
Piers Plowman (C), xxiii. 255. 
Numbers are so much the measure of every thing that 
is valuable that it is not possible to demonstrate the sue- 
cess of any action or the prudence of any undertaking 
without them. Steele, Spectator, No. 174. 
4. A written arithmetical figure or series of 
figures signifying a numeral. 5. A collection ; 
a lot; a class. 
Let thy spirit bear witness with my spirit, that I am of 
the number of thine elect, because I love the beauty of thy 
house, because I captivate mine understanding to thine 
ordinances. Donne, Sermons, vi. 
Let it be allowed that Nature is merely the collective 
name of a number of co-existences and sequences, and that 
God is merely a synonym for Nature. 
J. R. Seeley, Nat. Religion, p. 43. 
6. A considerable collection; a large class. 
[Often in the plural.] 
After men began to grow to a number, the first thing we 
read they gave themselves unto was the tilling of the earth 
and the feeding of cattle. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, i. 10. 
Be the disorder never so desperate or radical, you will 
find numbers in every street who . . . promise a certain 
cure. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, xxiv. 
7. The capacity of being counted: used espe- 
cially in the hyperbolical phrase without num- 
ber. 
There is so meche multytude of that folk, that thei ben 
imtkouten nombre. llandeville, Travels, p. 64. 
8. A numeral of a series affixed in regular order 
to a series of things : as, the number of a house 
in a street. 9. One of a series of things dis- 
tinguished by consecutive numerals : used es- 
pecially of serial publications. 
There was a number in the hawker's collection called 
Consents Francais, which may rank among the most dis- 
suasive war-lyrics on record. 
R. L. Stevenson, Inland Voyage, p. 137. 
10. The doctrine and properties of numerals 
and their relations. 
The knowledge of number as such is gained by means of 
a series of perceptions and an exercise of the powers of 
comparison and abstraction. 
J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 192. 
11. Numerousness; the character of being a 
large collection : used in this sense both in the 
singular and in the plural. 
Number itself importeth not much in armies, where the 
men are of weak courage. Bacon. 
In numbers confident, yon Chief shall baulk 
His Lord's imperial thirst for spoil and blood. 
Scott, Don Roderick, Conclusion, st. 4. 
12. In gram., that distinctive form which a 
word assumes according as it is said of or ex- 
presses one individual or more than one. The 
form which denotes one or an individual is the singular 
number; the form that is set apart for two individuals 
(as In Greek and Sanskrit) is the dual number; while that 
which refers to more than two, or indifferently to two or 
more individuals or units, constitutes the plural number. 
4038 
numbery 
Hence we say a noun, an adjective, a pronoun, or a verb is 3. To complete as to number; limit; come to 
the end of. 
, 
in the singular or the plural number. 
13. In i/liren., one of the perceptive faculties, 
whose alleged organ is situated a little to the 
side of the outer angle of the eye, and whose 
function is to give a talent for calculation in 
general. 14. Metrical sound or utterance; 
measured or harmonic expression ; rhythm. 
I love measure in the feet, and number in the voice ; 
they are gentlenesses that oftentimes draw no less than tude ; include in a list or class. 
the face. B. Jonson, Epicrene, iv. 1. He was , mmbered with the transgressors. 
It is obvious that there is nothing in musical elements 
beyond the mere aspects of number and rapidity which 
directly imitates thought. 
J. Sully, Sensation and Intuition, p. 235. 
15. pi. A succession of metrical syllables; 
poetical measure ; poetry; verse. 
I lisp'd in numbers, for the numbers came. 
Pope, Prol. to Satires, 1. 128. 
Divine melodious truth ; 
Philosophic numbers smooth. K^te Ode. 
The sands are number'd that make up my life. 
Ste*.,3Hen. VI., i. 4. 25. 
Quick ! quick ! for number'd are my sands of life, 
And swift; for like the lightning to this field 
I came, and like the wind I go away. 
M. Arnold, Sohrab and Hustum. 
4. To reckon as one of a collection or multi- 
Isa. liii. 12. 
A book was writ of late call'd " Tetrachordon," 
And woven close, both matter, form, and style; 
The subject new ; it walked the town awhile, 
Numbering good intellects ; now seldom pored on. 
Milton, Sonnets, vi. 
5. To put a number or numbers on; assign a 
distinctive number to ; mark the order of, as of 
the members of a series ; assign the place of in 
a numbered series: as, to number a row of 
houses, or a collection of books. 6. To possess 
16. In music : (a) One of the principal sections to th(J number of . 
or movements of an extended musical work, as 
of an oratorio. Usually the overture in such a 
case is not counted. (6) Same as opus-number. 
Abundant number. See abundant. Algebraic 
number, a root of an algebraic equation with whole num- 
bers for its coefficients. Alternate, amicable, apoca- 
It was believed that the Emperor Nicholas numbered 
almost a million of men under arms. 
Kinylake, Invasion of the Crimea, i. 
7. To amount to; reach the number of: as, the 
force under the command of Cresar numbered 
[Bare.] 
Oh, weep fbiit thy tears cannot number the dead. 
Campbell, Lochiel's Warning. 
= Syn. 1 and 2. To tell, catculate, reckon, call over, sum 
up. 
her a power of ten: so called because signified by a 
joint in finger-counting. Bernoullian numbers. See 
Bernoullian. Binary, cardinal, characteristic, cir- 
cular, complex, composite numbers. See the adjec- _ r- 
tives. Compound number, (at) A number consisting of n iimberfult(num'ber-ful),a. [(number +-/(.] 
an article an5 a digit. (i)_The expression ofa quantity m Many - n number . nume rous. _ 
About the year 700 great was the 
company of learned men of the Eng- 
lish race, yea, so numberfull that 
they upon the point excelled all 
nations, in learning, piety, and zeal. 
Waterhouse, Apology, p. 50. 
numbering-machine (num'- 
ber-ing-ma-shen"), n. A ma- * 
chine ttiat automatically 
Nnmbering-stamp. 
a, nuniberinjf-wheels 
each with ten Arabic 
:ro inclu- 
jnai, neierogeneai, iwwvsnwuiu uvnny-m figures i to zero inciu- 
the adjectives. Homogeneous num- numbering-stamp (num ber- sive; , arbor on which 
& 8l 'sf^L ni ^Te^f llnco'm^ 1 ing-stampl, n. A simple form SS^SUJSS 
SameasimmsnJ^rs.-Linearnum- of numbering-machine, used y^^sSSUL^^, 
mixed denominations. Cubic number. Same as cube, 
2.- Deficient, diametral, enneagonal number. See 
the adjectives. Euler's numbers, the numbers E 2 , E 4 , 
etc., which occur in the development of sec x by Mac- 
laurin's theorem : namely, sec x = 1 + E 2 a; 2 /2 ! + E 4 a;l/4 ! 
+ etc. Even number. See eveni, 7. Feminine, fig- 
urate, Galilean, golden, etc., number. See the adjec- 
tives. Gradual number, the ordinal number of a term 
after the first in a geometrical progression. Hankel's 
numbers, certain algebraical symbols which are not, 
properly speaking, numbers, but are units of multiple al- 
gebra. They possess the property that the value of the mentis numbers in consecu- 
product of any two of them has its sign reversed when the f. j n _ SPT i P o o f 
order of the factors is reversed. They are named after HVO order, as on a s 
Ilankel.who wrote a book about them ; but they had pre- pages, tickets, bank-notes, or 
viously been employed by Grassmann and by Cauchy. checks. 
Otherwise called alternate unite. Height of an alge- nlU nberinK-pr.eSS (num'ber- 
braic number, the place of the number m a certain ,^""> Same is num- 
linear arrangement of all such numbers. Hendecag- mg-pres), n. Game as num 
onal, heptagonal, heterogeneaL, heterogeneous bering-macmne. 
numbers. See 
ber, a multiple 
Imperfect numoer. oee me aujeciives.-incoiiiyoa- - f " .irnhpr-iTic' ma phinp 
ite numbers. Same as prime numbers. Linear num- ' .cnine, u, 
bers. See linear. line of numbers. Same as Ounter's 
line (a) (which see, under line?). Ludolphian number, 
the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter, or 
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884: so called because 
calculated by Ludolf van Ceulen to 36 places of decimals. 
Masculine numbers. See masculine. Measure of 
a number. See measure. Mixed number, the sum of 
a whole number and a fraction. Modular numbers. 
See modular. Mysteries Of numbers, a branch of high- 
er arithmetic. Number of the reed, in weaving, the 
number of dents in a reed of a given length. This num- 
ber determines the fineness of the cloth, as two threads 
pass through each dent. Also called set of the reed. 
Number one, self; one's self. [Colloq.J 
No man should have more than two attachments, the 
first to number one, and the second to the ladies. 
Sickens, Pickwick, Hi. 
Perfect, prime, rational, ultrabernoullian, etc., 
numbers. See the adjectives. Pythagorean num- 
bers. See Pythagorean. Theory Of numbers, the doc- 
trine of the divisibility of numbers. To lose the num- 
ber of one's mess. See lose*. 
number (num'ber), v. t. [< ME. nombren, noum- 
bren, nowmbren, nowmeren, < OF. numbrer, noum- num l)erouSt (num'ber-us), a. [Also numbrous, 
brer, nombrer, F. nombrer = Pr. numerar, num- noum i, er(mis ; < number + -ous. Cf . numerous.] 
frame in stamping ; ./", 
ratchet-wheel with ten 
teeth corresponding to 
the ten Arabic figures, 
i, a, 3, etc., to o; g, 
spring-pawl, which, on 
the spring being com- 
pressed, engages the 
tooth of the ratchet- 
wheel next to that pre- 
viously engaged ; h, an- 
gun 
,~~ ; " , . i' j rods on which the frame 
by hand to number tickets or f slides; <, spring which 
pages. A series of wheels bearing i? compressed T>y the 
the figures from to 9 are so con- 
nected that the pressure resulting 
from applying the stamp to an ob- 
ject sets in motion the unit-wheel, 
which in turn communicates motion 
to the successive wheels for tens, 
hundreds, etc. 
lumberless (num'ber-les), a. 
[< number + -less.'] 1. With- 
out a number; not marked 
or designated by a number. 
2. Innumerable; that has 
not been or cannot be counted; unnumbered. 
I forgive all ; 
There cannot be those numberless offences 
'Gainst me that I cannot take peace with. 
SAa*., Hen. VIII., ii. 1. 84. 
Voices and footfalls of the numberless throng. 
Bryant, Hymn of the City. 

i, h 
ndle; /, interme- 
brar, nombrar = Sp. Pg. numerar = It. nume- 
rare, < L. numerare, number, count, < numerus, 
a number: see number, n."] 1. To count; reck- 
on; ascertain the number of, or aggregate of 
individuals in ; enumerate. 
They are nowmerde fulle neghe, and namede in rollez 
Sexty thowsande and tene for-sothe of sekyre mene of 
armez. Horte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), L 2659. 
The Eeliquies at Venys canne not be nowmbred. 
Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 7. 
If a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall Numbers (num'berz), n 
1. Numerous. 
This rule makes mad a noumberouse swanne 
Of subjects and of kings. 
Drant, tr. of Horace's Satires, ii. 3. 
2. Consisting of poetic numbers ; rhythmical; 
metrical. 
The greatest part of Poets have apparelled their poeti- 
call inuentions in that numbrous kinde of writing which 
is called verse. Sir P. Sidney, Apol. for Poetrie. 
The fourth book of 
thy seed also be numbered. Gen. xiii. 16. 
2. To make or keep a reckoning of; count up, 
as by naming or setting down one by one ; make 
a tally or list of. 
Danid's Vertues when I think to number, 
Their multitude doth all my Wits incumber ; 
That Ocean swallowes me. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Trophies. 
I cannot number 'em, they were so many. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, i. 1. 
If thou wilt yield to great Atrides' pray'rs, 
Gifts worthy thee his royal hand prepares ; 
If not but hear me, while I number o'er 
The proffer'd presents, an exhaustless store. 
Pope, Iliad, ix. 342. 
the Old Testament : so called because it begins 
with an account of the numbering of the Israel- 
ites in the beginning of the second year after 
they left Egypt. It includes part of the his- 
tory of the Israelites during their wanderings. 
Abbreviated Num., Numb. 
numberyt (num'ber-i), a. [< number + -i/ 1 .] 
1. Numerous. 
So many and so numberi/ armies. 
Sylvester, Battle of Yvry. 
2. Melodious. 
Th' Accord of Discords ; sacred Harmony, 
And Numb'rtf Law. 
Sylvfrtrr, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii.. The Columnes. 
