vigesimal

American  

[vahy-jes-uh-muhl] / vaɪˈdʒɛs ə məl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or based on twenty.

2. twentieth.

3. proceeding by twenties.

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vigesimal British  

/ vaɪˈdʒɛsɪməl /

adjective

1. relating to or based on the number 20

2. taking place or proceeding in intervals of 20

3. twentieth

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Etymology

Origin of vigesimal

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin vīgēsim(us), variant (with g of vīgintī “twenty”) of vīcēsimus, vīcēnsimus “twentieth” + -al ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vigesimal

The only real difference was that instead of basing their numbers on 60 as the Babylonians did, the Mayans had a vigesimal, base-20 system that had the remnants of an earlier base-10 system in it.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Numbers like seven and 31 belonged to all of these systems, quinary, decimal, and vigesimal alike.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

This may mean that the people who lived in what is now France used a base-20 or vigesimal number system.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Dismissing from consideration the quinary scale, let us briefly examine once more the natural process of evolution through which the decimal and the vigesimal scales come into being.

From The Number Concept Its Origin and Development by Levi Leonard Conant

It is a fact, as will be fully illustrated in the following pages, that quinary number systems, when extended, usually merge into either the decimal or the vigesimal.

From The Number Concept Its Origin and Development by Levi Leonard Conant

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