numerology

numerology
numerological /nooh'meuhr euh loj"i keuhl, nyooh'-/, adj.numerologist, n.
/nooh'meuh rol"euh jee, nyooh'-/, n.
the study of numbers, as the figures designating the year of one's birth, to determine their supposed influence on one's life, future, etc.
[1910-15; < L numer(us) NUMBER + -O- + -LOGY]

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Use of numbers to interpret a person's character or divine the future.

It is based on the assertion by Pythagoras that all things can be expressed in numerical terms because they are ultimately reducible to numbers. Using a method analogous to that of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets (in which each letter also represented a number), modern numerology attaches a series of digits to an inquirer's name and uses these, along with the date of birth, to reveal the person's true nature and prospects.

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      use of numbers to interpret a person's character or to divine the future. The theory behind numerology is based on the Pythagorean idea that all things can be expressed in numerical terms because they are ultimately reducible to numbers. Using a method analogous to that of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets (in which each letter also represented a number), modern numerology attaches a series of digits to an inquirer's name and date of birth and from these purports to divine the person's true nature and prospects.

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Universalium. 2010.

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