Arabic numerals Libya to Morocco. Arabs, on the other hand, call the base-10 system (not just these digits) "Hindu numerals", referring to their origin in India. This is not to be confused with what the Arabs call the "Hindi numerals", namely the Eastern Arabic numerals ( - - - - - - - - - ) used in the Middle East, or any of the numerals currently used in Indian languages (e.g. Devanagari: ). The European acceptance of the numerals was accelerated by the invention of the printing press, and they became widely known during the 15th century. Early evidence of their
Arabic numeral variations numeral two. Arabic numeral variations There are various stylistic and typographic variations to the Arabic numeral system. The numerals used by Western countries have two forms: "lining" ("in-line" or "full-height") figures as seen on a typewriter and taught in North America, and "old-style" figures, in which numerals 0, 1 and 2 are at x-height; numerals 6 and 8 have bowls within x-height, and ascenders; numerals 3, 5, 7 and 9 have descenders from x-height; and the numeral 4 rests along the baseline. British presses have been partial to "old-style" numerals, even though typewriters cannot print them and they are not