Editing 4 (section)

==Evolution of the Hindu-Arabic digit==

{{More citations needed section|date=May 2024}}

[[File:Evolution4glyph.png|x50px|left]]
[[File:Vier.jpg|thumb|120px|left|Two modern handwritten fours]]
[[File:Algund Dominikanerinnenklosterkirche Portal bezeichnet 1481 (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|Sculpted date "1481" in the Convent church of Maria Steinach in [[Algund]], [[South Tirol]], [[Italy]]. The upward loop signifies the number 4.]]
[[Brahmic 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 Empire|Shunga]] would add a horizontal line on top of the digit, and the [[Northern Satraps|Kshatrapa]] and [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] evolved the digit to a point where the speed of writing was a secondary concern. The [[Arab]]s' 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.<ref>Georges Ifrah, ''The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer'' transl. David Bellos et al. London: The Harvill Press (1998): 394, Fig. 24.64</ref>

While the shape of the character for the digit 4 has an [[ascender (typography)|ascender]] in most modern [[typeface]]s, in typefaces with [[text figures]] the glyph usually has a [[descender]], as, for example, in [[File:TextFigs148.svg|40px]].

On the [[seven-segment display]]s of pocket calculators and digital watches, as well as certain [[optical character recognition]] fonts, 4 is seen with an open top: [[File:Seven-segment 4.svg|x25px]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-04-22|title=Seven Segment Displays (7-Segment) {{!}} Pinout, Types and Applications|url=https://www.electronicshub.org/seven-segment-displays/|access-date=2020-07-28|website=Electronics Hub|language=en-US|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728014108/https://www.electronicshub.org/seven-segment-displays/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Television station]]s that operate on [[channel 4 (disambiguation)|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".<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-02-02|title=Battle of the MICR Fonts: Which Is Better, E13B or CMC7? - Digital Check|language=en-US|work=Digital Check|url=https://www.digitalcheck.com/battle-micr-fonts-better-e13b-cmc7/|access-date=2020-07-28|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803161254/https://www.digitalcheck.com/battle-micr-fonts-better-e13b-cmc7/|url-status=live}}</ref>