7 (seven) is the
natural number following
6 and preceding
8. It is the only
prime number preceding a
cube
In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. Viewed from a corner it is a hexagon and its net is usually depicted as a cross.
The cube is the only r ...
.
As an early
prime number in the series of
positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in
religion,
mythology,
superstition
A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. The seven
Classical planets resulted in seven being the number of days in a week. It is often considered
lucky in
Western culture and is often seen as
highly symbolic. Unlike
Western culture, in
Vietnamese culture, the number seven is sometimes considered unlucky.
It is the first natural number whose pronunciation contains more than one syllable.
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the
beginning, Indians wrote 7 more or less in one stroke as a curve that looks like an uppercase vertically inverted. The western Ghubar Arabs' main contribution was to make the longer line diagonal rather than straight, though they showed some tendencies to making the digit more rectilinear. The eastern
Arabs developed the digit from a form that looked something like our 6 to one that looked like an uppercase V. Both modern Arab forms influenced the European form, a two-stroke form consisting of a horizontal upper stroke joined at its right to a stroke going down to the bottom left corner, a line that is slightly curved in some font variants. As is the case with the
European digit, the Cham and Khmer digit for 7 also evolved to look like their digit 1, though in a different way, so they were also concerned with making their 7 more different. For the Khmer this often involved adding a horizontal line to the top of the digit. This is analogous to the horizontal stroke through the middle that is sometimes used in handwriting in the Western world but which is almost never used in computer fonts. This horizontal stroke is, however, important to distinguish the glyph for seven from the glyph for
one
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
in writing that uses a long upstroke in the glyph for 1. In some Greek dialects of the early 12th century the longer line diagonal was drawn in a rather semicircular transverse line.
On the
seven-segment displays of pocket calculators and digital watches, 7 is the digit with the most common graphic variation (1, 6 and 9 also have variant glyphs). Most calculators use three line segments, but on
Sharp,
Casio, and a few other brands of calculators, 7 is written with four line segments because in Japan, Korea and Taiwan 7 is written with a "hook" on the left, as ① in the following illustration.
While the shape of the character for the digit 7 has an
ascender in most modern
typefaces, in typefaces with
text figures the character usually has a
descender, as, for example, in
.
Most people in Continental Europe, and some in Britain and Ireland as well as Latin America, write 7 with a line in the middle ("
7"), sometimes with the top line crooked. The line through the middle is useful to clearly differentiate the digit from the digit one, as the two can appear similar when written in certain styles of handwriting. This form is used in official handwriting rules for primary school in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, other Slavic countries, France, Italy, Belgium, Finland, Romania, Germany, Greece, and Hungary.
Mathematics
Seven, the fourth
prime number, is not only a
Mersenne prime (since ) but also a
double Mersenne prime since the exponent, 3, is itself a Mersenne prime. It is also a
Newman–Shanks–Williams prime, a
Woodall prime, a
factorial prime, a
lucky prime, a
happy number (happy prime), a
safe prime (the only ), a
Leyland prime of the second kind and the fourth
Heegner number In number theory, a Heegner number (as termed by Conway and Guy) is a square-free positive integer ''d'' such that the imaginary quadratic field \Q\left sqrt\right/math> has class number 1. Equivalently, its ring of integers has unique factoriza ...
.
*Seven is the lowest natural number that cannot be represented as the sum of the squares of three integers. (See
Lagrange's four-square theorem#Historical development.)
*Seven is the
aliquot sum of one number, the
cubic number and is the base of the 7-aliquot tree.
*7 is the only number ''D'' for which the equation has more than two solutions for ''n'' and ''x'' natural. In particular, the equation is known as the
Ramanujan–Nagell equation.
*7 is the only dimension, besides the familiar 3, in which a vector
cross product
In mathematics, the cross product or vector product (occasionally directed area product, to emphasize its geometric significance) is a binary operation on two vectors in a three-dimensional oriented Euclidean vector space (named here E), and is ...
can
be defined.
*7 is the lowest
dimension of a known
exotic sphere
In an area of mathematics called differential topology, an exotic sphere is a differentiable manifold ''M'' that is homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the standard Euclidean ''n''-sphere. That is, ''M'' is a sphere from the point of view of al ...
, although there may exist as yet unknown exotic smooth structures on the 4-dimensional sphere.
* divided by 7 is exactly . Therefore, when a
vulgar fraction with 7 in the
denominator is converted to a
decimal
The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers of the Hindu–Arabic numeral ...
expansion, the result has the same six-
digit
Digit may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Numerical digit, as used in mathematics or computer science
** Hindu-Arabic numerals, the most common modern representation of numerical digits
* Digit (anatomy), the most distal part of a limb, such ...
repeating sequence after the decimal point, but the sequence can start with any of those six digits. For example, and
:In fact, if one sorts the digits in the number 142,857 in ascending order, 124578, it is possible to know from which of the digits the decimal part of the number is going to begin with. The remainder of dividing any number by 7 will give the position in the sequence 124578 that the decimal part of the resulting number will start. For example, 628 ÷ 7 = ; here 5 is the remainder, and would correspond to number 7 in the ranking of the ascending sequence. So in this case, . Another example, , hence the remainder is 2, and this corresponds to number 2 in the sequence. In this case, .
*A seven-sided shape is a
heptagon. The regular ''n''-gons for ''n'' ≤ 6 can be constructed by
compass and straightedge
In geometry, straightedge-and-compass construction – also known as ruler-and-compass construction, Euclidean construction, or classical construction – is the construction of lengths, angles, and other geometric figures using only an ideali ...
alone, but the regular heptagon cannot.
Figurate numbers representing heptagons (including seven) are called
heptagonal numbers. Seven is also a
centered hexagonal number
In mathematics and combinatorics, a centered hexagonal number, or hex number, is a centered figurate number that represents a hexagon with a dot in the center and all other dots surrounding the center dot in a hexagonal lattice. The following ...
.
*There are seven
frieze groups, the
groups consisting of
symmetries of the plane whose group of
translations is
isomorphic
In mathematics, an isomorphism is a structure-preserving mapping between two structures of the same type that can be reversed by an inverse mapping. Two mathematical structures are isomorphic if an isomorphism exists between them. The word is ...
to the group of
integers.
*There are seven fundamental types of
catastrophes.
*When rolling two standard six-sided
dice
Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...
, seven has a 6 in 6 (or ) probability of being rolled (1–6, 6–1, 2–5, 5–2, 3–4, or 4–3), the greatest of any number. The opposite sides of a standard six-sided dice always add to 7.
*The
Millennium Prize Problems
The Millennium Prize Problems are seven well-known complex mathematical problems selected by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000. The Clay Institute has pledged a US$1 million prize for the first correct solution to each problem. According t ...
are seven problems in
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
that were stated by the
Clay Mathematics Institute
The Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI) is a private, non-profit foundation (nonprofit), foundation dedicated to increasing and disseminating mathematics, mathematical knowledge. Formerly based in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the corporate address i ...
in 2000. Currently, six of the problems remain
unsolved.
Basic calculations
In science
* Seven colors in a rainbow:
ROYGBIV
* Seven
Continents
*
Seven Seas
*
Seven climes
* The neutral
pH balance
* Number of music notes in a scale
* Number of spots most commonly found on ladybugs
* Atomic number for
Nitrogen
In Psychology
*
Seven, plus or minus two as a model of
working memory.
* Seven
psychological types called the
Seven Rays in the teachings of
Alice A. Bailey
* In Western Culture, Seven is consistently listed as people's favorite number.
* When guessing numbers 1-10 the number 7 is most likely to be picked.
*
Seven-year itch: happiness in marriage said to decline after 7 years
Classical antiquity
The
Pythagoreans invested particular numbers with unique spiritual properties. The number seven was considered to be particularly interesting because it consisted of the union of the physical (number
4) with the spiritual (number
3). In Pythagorean
numerology
Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...
the number 7 means spirituality.
References from classical antiquity to the number seven include:
*Seven
Classical planets and the derivative
Seven Heavens
*
Seven Wonders of the ancient world
*Seven
metals of antiquity
The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which humans had identified and found use for in prehistoric times in Europe and the Middle East: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury. These seven are the metals from which the moder ...
*
Seven days in the week
*
Seven Seas
*
Seven Sages
*
Seven champions that fought Thebes
*
Seven hills of Rome and
Seven Kings of Rome
*
Seven Sisters, the daughters of
Atlas also known as the
Pleiades
Religion and mythology
Judaism
The number seven forms a widespread
typological
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
pattern within
Hebrew scripture, including:
*Seven days (more precisely
yom) of Creation, leading to the seventh day or
Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
(Genesis 1)
*Seven-fold vengeance visited on upon
Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
for the killing of
Abel (Genesis 4:15)
*Seven pairs of every clean animal loaded onto the ark by Noah (Genesis 7:2)
*Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41)
*Seventh son of Jacob,
Gad, whose name means good luck (Genesis 46:16)
*Seven times bullock's blood is sprinkled before God (Leviticus 4:6)
*Seven nations God told the
Israelites they would displace when they entered the land of
Israel (Deuteronomy 7:1)
*Seven days of the
Passover feast (Exodus 13:3–10)
*Seven-branched
candelabrum
A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms.
Although electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers continue to model light fixtures ...
or
Menorah
Menorah may refer to:
* Jewish candelabra:
** Temple menorah, a seven-lamp candelabrum used in the ancient Tabernacle in the desert, the Temple in Jerusalem, and synagogues
** Hanukkah menorah or ''hanukkiyah'', a nine-lamp candelabrum used on the ...
(Exodus 25)
*Seven
trumpets played by seven priests for seven days to bring down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:8)
*Seven things that are detestable to God (Proverbs 6:16–19)
*Seven Pillars of the
House of Wisdom
The House of Wisdom ( ar, بيت الحكمة, Bayt al-Ḥikmah), also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad, refers to either a major Abbasid public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad or to a large private library belonging to the Abba ...
(Proverbs 9:1)
*Seven archangels in the deuterocanonical
Book of Tobit
The Book of Tobit () ''Tōbith'' or ''Tōbit'' ( and spellings are also attested) itself from he, טובי ''Tovi'' "my good"; Book of Tobias in the Vulgate from the Greek ''Tōbias'', itself from the Hebrew ''Tovyah'' " Yah is good", also k ...
(12:15)
References to the number seven in Jewish knowledge and practice include:
*Seven divisions of the weekly readings or
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
of the
Torah
*Seven Jewish men (over the age of 13) called to read aliyahs in
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
morning services
*Seven blessings recited under the
chuppah during a Jewish wedding ceremony
*Seven days of festive meals for a Jewish bride and groom after their wedding, known as Sheva Berachot or Seven Blessings
*Seven
Ushpizzin prayers to the Jewish patriarchs during the holiday of
Sukkot
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
Christianity
Following the traditional of the
Hebrew Bible, the
New Testament likewise uses the number seven as part of a
typological
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
pattern:
*Seven loaves
multiplied into seven basketfuls of surplus (Matthew 15:32–37)
*Seven
demons
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
were driven out of
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
(Luke 8:2)
*
Seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross
*Seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom (Acts 6:3)
*
Seven Spirits of God,
Seven Churches
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven major Churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them are located in ...
and
Seven Seals in the
Book of Revelation
References to the number seven in Christian knowledge and practice include:
*
Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
*
Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy and
Seven Spiritual Acts of Mercy
*
Seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and seven terraces of Mount
Purgatory
*
Seven Virtues: chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility
*
Seven Joys and
Seven Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...
of the Virgin Mary
*
Seven Sleepers of Christian myth
*Seven
Sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
in the Catholic Church (though some traditions assign a different number)
Islam
References to the number seven in Islamic knowledge and practice include:
*Seven
ayat in
sura
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
t
al-Fatiha
Al-Fatiha (alternatively transliterated Al-Fātiḥa or Al-Fātiḥah; ar, ألْفَاتِحَة, ; ), is the first ''surah'' (chapter) of the Quran. It consists of 7 '' ayah'' (verses) which are a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha i ...
, the first book of the holy
Qur'an
*Seven
circumambulations of Muslim pilgrims around the
Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
in
Mecca during the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
and the
Umrah
*Seven walks between
Al-Safa and Al-Marwah performed Muslim pilgrims during the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
and the
Umrah
*Seven doors to hell (for heaven the number of doors is eight)
*Seventh day
naming ceremony held for babies
*Seven enunciators of divine revelation (''nāṭiqs'') according to the celebrated
Fatimid Ismaili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
dignitary
Nasir Khusraw
*
Circle Seven Koran, the holy scripture of the Moorish Science Temple of America
Hinduism
References to the number seven in Hindu knowledge and practice include:
*Seven worlds in the universe and seven seas in the world in Hindu cosmology
*Seven sages or
Saptarishi and their seven wives or Sapta Matrka in
Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...
*Seven
Chakras
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
in eastern philosophy
*Seven stars in a constellation called "
Saptharishi Mandalam" in Indian astronomy
*Seven promises, or
Saptapadi
Saptapadi () is regarded to be the most important rite (Sanskrit: ) of a Hindu wedding ceremony. After tying the sacred knot known as the Mangalsutra, mangalasutra, the newly-wed couple takes seven steps together, during which the marriage is so ...
, and seven circumambulations around a fire at Hindu weddings
*Seven virgin goddesses or
Saptha Kannimar worshipped in temples in
Tamil Nadu,
India
*Seven hills at
Tirumala known as Yedu Kondalavadu in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
, or ezhu malaiyan in
Tamil, meaning "Sevenhills God"
*Seven steps taken by the
Buddha at birth
*Seven divine ancestresses of humankind in
Khasi
Khasi may refer to:
* Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India
* Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India
* Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India
See also
* Khasi Hills
* Gh ...
mythology
*Seven octets or
Saptak Swaras in Indian Music as the basis for
Ragas compositions
*
Seven Social Sins listed by
Mahatma Gandhi
Eastern tradition
Other references to the number seven in Eastern traditions include:
*
Seven Lucky Gods or gods of good
fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune co