4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
Contents
Evolution of the Hindu-Arabic digit
Brahmi numerals represented 1, 2, and 3 with as many lines. 4 was simplified by joining its four lines into a cross that looks like the modern plus sign. The Shunga would add a horizontal line on top of the digit, and the Kshatrapa and Pallava evolved the digit to a point where the speed of writing was a secondary concern. The Arabs' 4 still had the early concept of the cross, but for the sake of efficiency, was made in one stroke by connecting the "western" end to the "northern" end; the "eastern" end was finished off with a curve. The Europeans dropped the finishing curve and gradually made the digit less cursive, ending up with a digit very close to the original Brahmin cross.
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While the shape of the character for the digit 4 has an ascender in most modern typefaces, in typefaces with text figures the glyph usually has a descender, as, for example, in .
On the seven-segment displays of pocket calculators and digital watches, as well as certain optical character recognition fonts, 4 is seen with an open top: .
Television stations that operate on channel 4 have occasionally made use of another variation of the "open 4", with the open portion being on the side, rather than the top. This version resembles the Canadian Aboriginal syllabics letter ᔦ. The magnetic ink character recognition "CMC-7" font also uses this variety of "4".
Mathematics
Lagrange's four-square theorem states that every positive integer can be written as the sum of at most four squares. Four is one of four all-Harshad numbers. Each natural number divisible by 4 is a difference of squares of two natural numbers, i.e.
4
x
=
y
2
−
z
2
{\displaystyle 4x=y^{2}-z^{2}}
.
A four-sided plane figure is a quadrilateral or quadrangle, sometimes also called a tetragon. It can be further classified as a rectangle or oblong, kite, rhombus, and square.
Four is the highest degree general polynomial equation for which there is a solution in radicals.
Four is the only square number
N
=
n
×
n
{\displaystyle N=n\times n}
where
N
−
1
{\displaystyle N-1}
is a prime number.
In culture
Four is the sacred number of the Zia, an indigenous tribe located in the U.S. state of New Mexico.
Superstition about the number four is most common in [[East Asian}} nations, where it is a homonym for death in many languages.
In technology
In internet slang, "4" can replace the word "for" (as "four" and "for" are pronounced similarly). For example, messaging "4 u" instead of "for you" when talking to someone.
In Leet, "4" may be used to replace the letter "A".
