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In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, n th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets. [ 1 ] A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the least natural number that has not been previously used.
Ordinal indicator – Character(s) following an ordinal number (used when writing ordinal numbers, such as a super-script) Ordinal number – Generalization of "n-th" to infinite cases (the related, but more formal and abstract, usage in mathematics) Ordinal data, in statistics; Ordinal date – Date written as number of days since first day of ...
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Every well-ordered set is order-equivalent to exactly one ordinal number, by definition. The ordinal numbers are taken to be the canonical representatives of their classes, and so the order type of a well-ordered set is usually identified with the corresponding ordinal. Order types thus often take the form of arithmetic expressions of ordinals.
In the mathematical field of set theory, ordinal arithmetic describes the three usual operations on ordinal numbers: addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. Each can be defined in essentially two different ways: either by constructing an explicit well-ordered set that represents the result of the operation or by using transfinite recursion .
In Latin and Greek, the ordinal forms are also used for fractions for amounts higher than 2; only the fraction 1 / 2 has special forms. The same suffix may be used with more than one category of number, as for example the orginary numbers second ary and terti ary and the distributive numbers bi nary and ter nary .