nine

Everyday

1. Nine is the number 9. It comes after eight and before ten. tree →
2. A nine is the digit 9, or a playing card or score of nine. tree →
3. «Nine o'clock» or «nine» is a time of day. tree →

In the lessons

In maths: a count written in words; 9 = 3 × 3, the biggest single digit; the 9 times table has a pattern (the digits of 9, 18, 27, 36 add up to 9). In everyday life: ages, times («school starts at nine»), sports (nine players in a baseball team). In stories: «nine lives» of a cat; «dressed up to the nines» means very smartly dressed.

Examples

• She has nine apples. tree →
• Nine birds sat on a fence. tree →
• He scored nine points. tree →
• Nine children are in the group. tree →
• School starts at nine. tree →
• A baseball team has nine players on the field. tree →
• Three times three is nine. tree →
• My little brother is nine years old. tree →
• People say a cat has nine lives. tree →

Note

A number written in words; read it as 9. Odd number; a square number (3 × 3). A number can be divided by 9 exactly when its digits add up to a multiple of 9 (like 81: 8 + 1 = 9). Spelling: nine, ninth (no «e»), ninety, nineteen. Trap: «nine lives» is a saying, not a fact about cats.

In Jewish tradition

Nine is often a count of years in the long life-spans of the early generations, such as "nine hundred and twelve years."

Interpretation. The long ages of the first people are read by tradition as a sign of how close they were to the world's creation. Nine also appears in the Sefer Yetzirah's counting of the numbers.

Examples

• And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Terah. (Torah GEN.11.24, JPS 1917) tree →
• And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. (Torah GEN.5.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. (Torah GEN.5.11, JPS 1917) tree →
• and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. (Writings 1CH.3.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five. (Writings EZR.2.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. (Writings NEH.7.38, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

A number written in words; read it as 9. Odd number; a square number (3 × 3). A number can be divided by 9 exactly when its digits add up to a multiple of 9 (like 81: 8 + 1 = 9). Spelling: nine, ninth (no «e»), ninety, nineteen. Trap: «nine lives» is a saying, not a fact about cats.