Universal #536
Legacy number: 536
| Number | 534 |
| Original | When a number is expressed by subtraction, or when a subtraction occurs as a constituent of a complex expression, the subtrahend is never larger than the remainder. |
| Standardized | IF a number is expressed by subtraction, or a subtraction occurs as a constituent of a complex expression, THEN the subtrahend is never larger than the remainder. |
| Keywords | numeral |
| Domain | word formation |
| Type | no genuine implication; rather: provided that |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | 56 languages mentioned in Greenberg 1978a |
| Source | Greenberg 1978a: 259 (#12) |
Discussion
Notes
1. The subtrahend is the number subtracted, the minuend the number from which subtraction takes place, and the remainder is the result.2. This generalization would be violated if a language expressed 2 as 10-8, since the subtrahend 8 is larger than the remainder 2. It would not be violated, however, if 8 was expressed as 10-2, which in fact is found quite often.
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2. This generalization would be violated if a language expressed 2 as 10-8, since the subtrahend 8 is larger than the remainder 2. It would not be violated, however, if 8 was expressed as 10-2, which in fact is found quite often.