unary numeral system
- noun
- /ˈjunəˌrē ˈnjumərəl ˈsɪstəm/
- Specialized
:
sistema numérico unario
- In the unary numeral system, the number five is represented as '11111'.
Examples
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Ancient tally marks are an example of the unary numeral system in use.
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In a unary numeral system, the number five is represented by five symbols.
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The unary numeral system is simple but inefficient for large numbers.
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The unary numeral system is the simplest form of numeral representation.
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In a unary numeral system, each natural number is represented by repeating a single symbol.
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The unary numeral system illustrates how numbers can be expressed with just one type of symbol.
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With the unary numeral system, the number three would be represented as '111'.
Synonyms
A number system that uses one mark repeated for each number
Surface Forms
Morphology
The overall meaning is directly derivable from its constituents: 'unary' (single-symbol per unit), 'numeral' (a written number sign), and 'system' (a formal set of rules), so the phrase denotes a numbering system that represents each value by repeating a single symbol. This is purely compositional technical vocabulary and follows normal English compound semantics, so a B1 learner who knows the component words would understand it.
Etymology
Unary numeral system comes from the simple image of counting by repeating one mark, like writing '11111' for five. Each mark stands for one, so the system means you write the same symbol as many times as the number, and that's why it means 'one symbol per unit'.
