Editing Isopsephy (section)

{{Short description|Numerological connection between words whose letters' number values have equal sums}}

In [[numerology]], '''isopsephy''' (stressed on the ''I'' and the ''E'';<ref>Variously {{IPAc-en|,|aɪ|s|ə|'|s|ɛ|f|i}}, {{IPAc-en|,|aɪ|s|ə|'|s|iː|f|i}}; also {{IPAc-en|,|aɪ|s|oʊ|-}}, {{IPAc-en|-|p|'|s|ɛ|f|i}}</ref> {{ety|el|''ἴσος'' (ísos)|equal||''ψῆφος'' (psêphos)|count}}, {{lit|pebble}}) or '''isopsephism''' is the practice of adding up the [[Greek numerals|number values of the letters]] in a word to form a single number.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ast |first1=R. |last2=Lougovaya |first2=J. |chapter=The Art of Isopsephism in the Greco-Roman World |title=Ägyptische Magie und ihre Umwelt |editor-first=A. |editor-last=Jördens |place=Wiesbaden |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=2015 |pages=82–98}}</ref> The total number is then used as a metaphorical bridge to other words evaluating the equal number,<ref>{{cite book |first=Georges |last=Ifrah |title=The universal history of numbers: from prehistory to the invention of the computer |year=1998 |page=25}}6</ref> which satisfies {{lang|grc-Latn|isos}} or "equal" in the term. [[Ancient Greeks]] used [[counting board]]s for numerical calculation and accounting, with a counter generically called {{lang|grc-Latn|psephos}} ('pebble'), analogous to the Latin word {{lang|la|calculus}}, from which the English ''calculate'' is derived.

Isopsephy is related to [[gematria]]: the same practice using the [[Hebrew alphabet]]. It is also related to the ancient number systems of many other peoples (for the [[Arabic alphabet]] version, see [[Abjad numerals]]). A gematria of [[Latin script]] languages was also popular in [[Europe]] from the [[Middle Ages]] to the [[Renaissance]], and its legacy remains an influence in [[code-breaking]] and [[numerology]].