Roman Numerals

How to Translate Roman Numerals

Roman numerals consist of a combination of the I, V, X, L, C, D and M letters. The position of the letters in relationship to each other is what determines the value of the actual Roman numeral. For example:

• If smaller numbers follow larger numbers, the numbers are added. For example, the Roman numeral XII calls for the addition of ten and two, resulting in the value of twelve. XII = 10+2

• If a smaller number precedes a larger number, the smaller number is subtracted from the larger. For example, the Roman numeral IIX calls for the subtraction of two from ten, resulting in the value of eight. IIX = 10-2

Some more examples:

• VIII = 5+3 = 8
• IX = 10-1 = 9
• XL = 50-10 = 40
• XC = 100-10 = 90
• MCMLXXXIV = 1000+(1000-100)+50+30+(5-1) = 1984

Roman Numeral Table 1 I 14 XIV 27 XXVII 150 CL 2 II 15 XV 28 XXVIII 200 CC 3 III 16 XVI 29 XXIX 300 CCC 4 IV 17 XVII 30 XXX 400 CD 5 V 18 XVIII 31 XXXI 500 D 6 VI 19 XIX 40 XL 600 DC 7 VII 20 XX 50 L 700 DCC 8 VIII 21 XXI 60 LX 800 DCCC 9 IX 22 XXII 70 LXX 900 CM 10 X 23 XXIII 80 LXXX 1000 M 11 XI 24 XXIV 90 XC 1600 MDC 12 XII 25 XXV 100 C 1700 MDCC 13 XIII 26 XXVI 101 CI 1900 MCM

 

A Brief History of Roman Numerals

Roman numerals, as the name suggests, originated in ancient Rome. No one is sure when Roman numerals were first used, but they far predate the middle ages.

Theories abound as to the origins of this counting system, but it is commonly believed to have started with the ancient Etruscans. The symbol for one in the Roman numeral system probably represented a single tally mark of the kind people would notch into wood or dirt to keep track of items or events they were counting.

Roman Numerals in Modern Times

Roman numerals are still used today in a variety of applications. For examples:

• in outlines for a story or report

• on clocks and watches such as IIII for the number 4
• in books to number prefaces, forwards and book chapters
• on films and big events such as Rocky II and Super Bowl XLVI
• for monarchs such as Elizabeth II and Henry VIII
• for popes such as Pope John Paul II

Roman numerals are also used many scientific and creative situations to show intensity and to clarify the order of various aspects.

Roman Numerals in Crosswords

Crossword puzzle creators are fond of using Roman numerals in their puzzles, ranging from requiring translation of complex numbers to expecting puzzlers to know that a Roman numeral M stands for one thousand. If you want to be an expert crossword puzzler, you probably need to get familiar with the Roman numeral conversion process or keep a conversion chart handy. A typical crossword clue is "Half of MCIV" which should be answered "DLII".