Isopsephy (; isos meaning "equal" and psephos meaning "pebble") or isopsephism is the practice of adding up the number values of the letters in a word to form a single number.Ast, R. & Lougovaya J., The Art of Isopsephism in the Greco-Roman World in Ägyptische Magie und ihre Umwelt. ed. A. Jördens; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2015, p.82–98 The total number is then used as a metaphorical bridge to other words evaluating the equal number,Georges Ifrah, The universal history of numbers: from prehistory to the invention of the computer, 1998, p. 256 which satisfies isos or "equal" in the term. The early Greeks used pebbles arranged in patterns to learn arithmetic and geometry, which corresponds to psephos or "pebble" and "counting" in the term.
