Brewer's: Numbers

(from 1 to 13), theological symbols:

(1) The Unity of God.

(2) The hypostatic union of Christ, both God and man.

(3) The Trinity.

(4) The number of the Evangelists.

(5) The wounds of the Redecmer: two in the hands, two in the feet, one in the side.

(6) The creative week.

(7) The gifts of the Holy Ghost (Rev i. 12). Seven times Christ spoke on the cross.

(8) The number of the beatitudes (Matt. v. 3-11).

(9) The nine orders of angels (q.v.).

(10) The number of the Commandments.

(11) The number of the apostles who remained faithful.

(12) The original college.

(13) The final number after the conversion of Paul.

Numbers

Army of soldiers.
Regiment, etc.

Assembly
of people.

Batch
or Caste of bread.

Bench
of bishops, magistrates, etc.

Bevy
of roes, quails, larks, pheasants, ladies, etc.

Board
of directors.

Brood
of chickens, etc.

Catch
of fish taken in nets, etc.

Clump
of trees.

Cluster
of grapes, nuts, stars, etc

Collection
of pictures, curiosities, etc.

Company
of soldiers.

Congregation
of people at church, etc.

Covey
of game birds.

Crew
of sailors.

Crowd
of people.

Drove
of horses, ponies, beasts, etc Drum, a crush of company. Federation. A trade union.

Fell
of hair.

Fleet
of ships.

Flight
of bees, birds, stairs, etc.

Flock
of birds, sheep geese, etc.

Forest
of trees.

Galaxy of beauties.

Gang
of slaves, prisoners, thieves, etc.

Haul
of fish caught in a net.

Head
of cattle.

Herd
of bucks, deer, harts, seals, swine, etc.

Hive
of bees.

Host
of men.

House
of senators.

Legion
of “foul fiends.”

Library
of books.

Litter
of pigs, whelps, etc.

Menagerie
of wild beasts.

Mob
of roughs, wild cattle, etc.

Multitude
of men. In law, more than ten.

Muster
of peacocks.

Mute
of hounds.

Nest
of rabbits, ants, etc.; shelves, etc.

Nursery
of trees, shrubs, etc.

Pack
of hounds, playing cards, grouse, etc.

Panel
of jurymen.

Pencil
of rays, etc.

Pile
of books, wood stacked, etc.

Posse
(a sheriff's). Posse (2 syl.).

Pride
of lions.

Rabble
of men ill-bred and ill-clad.

Regiment
(A) of soldiers.

Rookery
of rooks and seals, also of unhealthy houses.

Rouleau
of money.

School
of whales, etc.

Set
of china, or articles assorted.

Shoal
of mackerel.

Shock
of hair, corn, etc.

Skein
of ducks, thread, worsted.

Skulk
of foxes.

Society
(A). Persons associated for some mutual object.

Stack
of corn, hay, wood (piled together).

String
of horses.

Stud
of mares.

Suit
of clothes.

Suite
of rooms.

Swarm
of bees, locusts, etc.

Take
of fish.

Team
of oxen, horses, etc.

Tribe
of goats.
Numbers

Odd Numbers. “Numero Deus impare gaudet” (Virgil: Eclogues, viii. 75). Three indicates the “beginning, middle, and end.” The Godhead has three persons; so in classic mythology Hecate had threefold power; Jove's symbol was a triple thunderbolt, Neptune's a sea-trident, Pluto's a three-headed dog; the Fates were three, the Furies three, the Graces three, the Horae three; the Muses three-times-three. There are seven notes, nine planets, nine orders of angels, seven days a week, thirteen lunar months, or 365 days a year, etc., five senses, five fingers on the hand and toes on the foot, five vowels five continents, etc. etc. A volume might be filled with illustrations of the saying that “the gods delight in odd numbers.” (See Odd, Nine.)

Numbers

To consult the Book of Numbers is to call for a division of the House, or to put a question to the vote. (Parliamentary wit.)

Numbers

Pythagoras looked on numbers as influential principles.

1 is Unity, and represents Deity, which has no parts.

2 is Diversity, and therefore disorder. The principle of strife and all evil.

3 is Perfect Harmony, or the union of unity and diversity.

4 is Perfection. It is the first square (2 2 = 4).

5 is the prevailing number in Nature and Art.

6 is Justice (Perfect Harmony being 3, which multiplied by Trinity = 6).

7 is the climacteric number in all diseases. Called the Medical Number (2 syl.). 2. The Romans dedicated the second month to Pluto, and the second day of the month to the Manes. They believed it to be the most fatal number of all.

4 and 6 are omitted, not being prime numbers; 4 is the multiple of 2, and 6 is the multiple of 3.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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