50 in Roman Numerals
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50 in Roman numerals is L. 50 has its own symbol, L. It is one of the seven basic symbols. In lowercase it is l, and the number is fifty. With one letter, L is shorter than both XLIX (49) and LI (51).
How L is built
tens50 = 50 → L
50 has its own symbol, L.
What sets L apart
- L is never repeated
- L is a five-symbol: it is never doubled, since LL would simply be C, and never written before a larger letter. It still takes part in subtraction as the larger half: XL is 40.
- Two places change
- 50 is a round step: the tens and ones change at once, and XLIX becomes L, three letters shorter.
- Twice 25
- 50 is twice 25 (XXV), but writing XXV twice does not work: XXVXXV is not valid. V cannot be subtracted from the next letter.
- A tenth of it
- L is the numeral for 5, V, with each letter moved up one rank.
Where you see L
Sport
Super Bowl 50 was played on February 7, 2016, in Santa Clara, where the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24–10. Branded with Arabic numerals instead of "L"; the NFL returned to Roman numerals with Super Bowl LI. Wikipedia
On clock faces and in Unicode
Unicode has a dedicated character Ⅼ (ROMAN NUMERAL FIFTY, U+216C) in the Number Forms block. Wikipedia
Roman calendar and Latin
In Latin, the number 50 is quīnquāgintā. Wiktionary
More about L
Super Bowl 50 (2016) was branded with Arabic numerals because the NFL found the single letter "L" hard to design around. Wikipedia
Numbers near 50
