medical number
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
In the Pythagorean system (see above), 7. Number of the Beast, The. 666 ; a mystical number of unknown meaning but referring to some man mentioned by St John.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “medical number” mean?
In the Pythagorean system (see above), 7. Number of the Beast, The. 666 ; a mystical number of unknown meaning but referring to some man mentioned by St John.
Is “medical number” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.