Definition:Number Names/Numbering of Sheep
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Definition
There are a number of traditional system of numbers used for counting sheep in certain locales in the British Isles.
This is one example:
\((1)\) | $:$ | wan | |||||||
\((2)\) | $:$ | twan | |||||||
\((3)\) | $:$ | tethera | |||||||
\((4)\) | $:$ | methera | |||||||
\((5)\) | $:$ | pimp | |||||||
\((6)\) | $:$ | sethera | |||||||
\((7)\) | $:$ | lethera | |||||||
\((8)\) | $:$ | hovera | |||||||
\((9)\) | $:$ | dovera | |||||||
\((10)\) | $:$ | dick | |||||||
\((11)\) | $:$ | wanadick | |||||||
\((12)\) | $:$ | twanadick | |||||||
\((13)\) | $:$ | tetheradick | |||||||
\((14)\) | $:$ | metheradick | |||||||
\((15)\) | $:$ | pimpdick | |||||||
\((16)\) | $:$ | setheradick | |||||||
\((17)\) | $:$ | letheradick | |||||||
\((18)\) | $:$ | hoveradick | |||||||
\((19)\) | $:$ | doveradick | |||||||
\((20)\) | $:$ | bumfit | |||||||
\((21)\) | $:$ | wanabumfit |
and so on.
Prime.mover remembers a song learned at school in which the chorus ran:
- Yain tain eddero peddero, yain tain eddero jig
which was built from another such system.
The children's nursery rhyme:
- Hickory dickory dock
- The mouse ran up the clock
- The clock struck one
- The mouse ran down
- Hickory dickory dock
appears to use versions of the shepherds' words for $8$, $9$, $10$ as its first and last lines.
Again, the children's counting game:
- Eeny meeny miny mo
- Catch a [ethnic minority] by his toe
- If he squeals let him go
- Eeny meeny miny mo
appears to use the shepherds' numbers for $1$, $2$, $3$ and $4$.
Sources
- 1996: John H. Conway and Richard K. Guy: The Book of Numbers ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: The Romance of Numbers: Hickory, Dickory, Dock -- Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo