Vivian, a high-schooler in Indianapolis, Indiana, asks why number becomes no. instead of something with a u. The abbreviation comes through Latin numero, an ablative form of numerus, and scribes shortened it with an o plus a mark showing that...
A high-schooler in Indianapolis, Indiana, wonders why the word number is abbreviated as no. when there’s no letter O in the word. The answer lies in the Latin word numero, which is the ablative form of the Latin word for number, numerus. This...