Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Badmojo]

I need a little help here, because I've forgotten some things I should know. The prefix of some English words can give you a clue to their meaning. Right now, I need to know the numbers, but my mind is hazy on a few. Can you help me fill in the blanks and/or correct?

1 - uni
2 - bi
3 - tri
4 - ???
5 - pent
6 - hex
7 - ???
8 - oct
9 - ???
10 - dec
100 - cent
1000 - mill

Thank you.

[Ya-ta Boy]

4 = quad (quadruple/quadrangle)

7 = septem (Latin) which is why our 9th month is named 7th Month
hepta (Greek) heptagon/heptarchy/Heptateuch

9 = novem (Latin) which explains why our 11th month is named 9.


It's amazing what a handy dandy dictionary will tell you.

[Wangja]

True, but the Roman calendar had only 10 months, hence the last was December. I don't remember which months were added, or when.

[VanIslander]

We should all know quad.

A quad is a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle (ATV).
A quad is a four-apartment complex.
Quads are the front thigh muscles, quadriceps.

And that's off the top of my head. Perhaps those terms aren't commonplace in your part of the English-speaking world, but they are where I grew up in Canada.

and I believe "quint" is used for five sometimes, as in quintrillion.
And "sex" as six in sextrillion and the sun-measuring instrument: the sextant.

[Badmojo]

No doubt I should have known quad, but it didn't come to me at the time. I told them "sept" for seven, but I wasn't sure.

"Novem" for nine is news to me.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Wangja]

Yeah, fairly certain. And I thought January was the first (Janus or somethig) and that two months were added in the middle - maybe April and May. I'll have to have a dig around. I did know this for sure when I was at school.

Edit: I was wrong, Jan and Feb were added later ...

[Ya-ta Boy]

Here is a partial solution to the mystery of the screwy month names from Wikipedia for 'Julian calendar'

Immediately after the Julian reform, the twelve months of the Roman calendar were named Ianuarius, Februarius, Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Iunius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December, just as they were before the reform. Their lengths were set to their modern values...The first month of the year continued to be Ianuarius, as it had been since 153 BC.

The Romans later renamed months after Caesar and Augustus, renaming Quintilis (originally, "the Fifth month", with March = month 1) as Iulius (July) in 44 BC and Sextilis ("Sixth month") as Augustus (August) in 8 BC. (Note that the letter J was not invented until the 17th century). Quintilis was renamed to honour Caesar because it was the month of his birth. According to a senatusconsultum quoted by Macrobius, Sextilis was renamed to honour Augustus because several of the most significant events in his rise to power, culminating in the fall of Alexandria, fell in that month.

And then this bit on determining the first day of the year from Wikipedia for Gregorian calendar:

During the Middle Ages 1 January was given the name New Year's Day (or an equivalent name) in all Western European countries (those with predominantly Catholic populations), even while most of those countries began their numbered year on 25 December (the Nativity of Jesus), then 25 March (the Incarnation of Jesus), and even Easter, as in France. This name was the result of always displaying the months of the medieval calendar from January to December (in twelve columns containing 28 to 31 days each), just like the Romans did. Furthermore, all Western European countries (except for a few Italian states) shifted the first day of their numbered year to 1 January while they were still using the Julian calendar, before they adopted the Gregorian calendar, many during the 16th century.

[schwa]

[Wangja]

Yes, it is. Even in (Belgian) French, instead of the more usual soixante-dix, quatre-vingt and quatre-vingt dix for 70, 80 and 90 one can say septante, huitante and nonante.

Much easier too.