Learn English – Name for number format used in “Section 3.2.1”

nounsnumbersterminologyword-choice

Does that kind of numbering style have a common name or names? To be fair, it is really more of an "identifier" since it certainly not a scalar (one-dimensional) number. It isn't fair to call it a floating point number either.

If I were to hazard two guesses, I would say:

  • a document identifier (but that seems so vague)
  • a multi-dotted number (silly, yes, but it gets the points across)

So in reality, I've got nothing.

Best Answer

The Chicago Manual of Style calls the actual instantiation of such an identifier a "numbered subhead" or sometimes a "numbered division" or "numbered section." It also points out that this particular style of referencing the various sections is called "multiple numeration." See section 1.55 for more info.

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