Numero sign.html |
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The Numero sign (U+2116) or Number sign is used in many languages to indicate ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles, for example, instead of writing the long "Number 4 Privet Drive" one would write the numero sign so: "№ 4 Privet Drive", and spoken as if written out in full.
The numero symbol combines the upper-case Latin letter "N" with a superscript lower-case letter "o", sometimes underlined, resembling the masculine ordinal indicator.
According to the OED,1 the term is from the Latin numero, which is the ablative form of the word numerus (NVMERVS in inscriptions, meaning "number", with the ablative meaning "to/by/with the number"). Similar forms exist as the word for "number" in Latin-derived languages: numero in Italian, numéro in French, and número in Spanish and Portuguese.
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Usage in natural languages
In Spanish, the numero sign is not a single symbol, but merely the word "número" abbreviated per the language's typographic convention of the superior letters (Spanish: "letras voladitas", "little flying letters"), wherein the final letter(s) of the abbreviated word are written as underlined lower-case superscripts: no and No (singular), nos and Nos (plural). Other flying letter examples are: "Fco" for "Francisco"; "Ma" for "María"; "fdo" for "firmado" ("signed"). The substitutive form "No." is unacceptable because it might be confused for the negative particle "no". The numero sign is also used as indication of an ordinal number, "1o" "primero" (first), "2o" "segundo" (second), "3o" "tercero" (third)...
Portuguese follows very similar rules as the ones described for Spanish. No and nos for "número" or "números". The same way as in Spanish "No." cannot be accepted because it may be mistaken by "no" (a conjunction of "in" + "the"). The superscript-underlinded o (o) can also be used in oposition of a to indicate the gender a certain title corresponds to: Profa = female professor or teacher whilst Profo (more comonly only Prof.; without the flying "o") would mean a male professor or teacher.
In French, the № symbol can, likewise, mean "number" (numéro), and is written and understood several ways, with or without superscript letters, underlining, or a period. Note that "no" (a particle in English) is not a word in French, and so would not be confused as the French negative, "non", as might occur in English, Italian, and Spanish; examples: №, no., No
Although the letter "N" is not in the Cyrillic alphabet, the numero sign is typeset in Russian publishing, and is in Russian computer and typewriter keyboards. Moreover, it is not a standard alphabetic symbol in all European languages; in German, the abbreviation (with full stop) for "number" is "Nr." (Nummer).
Typing the symbol
On typewriters and computers that do not support this symbol, it is acceptable and commonplace to substitute it with the trigraph "No." (letter "N", letter "o", and a period (full stop)).
On typewriters and computers that support the degree sign or (preferably) masculine ordinal indicator, a digraph starting with "N", such as "N°" or "Nº", may suffice as a substitute for the numero sign, but only if it is to be presented exclusively within visual media, in a typeface and sizing that results in a passable approximation of the numero sign. Such digraphs are inappropriate for representing the numero sign in computer data, in general.
On Russian computer keyboards, № is often located on the "3" key; replacing the "#" sign on a US keyboard.
In Mac OS X, the character can be typed using "U.S. Extended" keyboard by typing shift-option-; (semicolon).
In HTML, the numero sign (if it cannot be entered directly) may be represented by № or №.
The Unicode Standard states:
- U+2116 NUMERO SIGN is provided both for Cyrillic use, where it looks like [semi-cursive "N" followed by raised, underlined small "o"], and for compatibility with Asian standards, where it looks like [angular "N" followed by raised, underlined small "o", followed by a period]. The French practice is not to use the symbol character per se, but rather to use an "N" or an "n", according to context, followed by a superscript o (No or no; plural Nos or nos).2