macuilli (Mdz42v)

It was common to represent single digits and, often, all numbers below 20 with single circular counters. They can appear all in a row, in two rows, horizontal or vertical, or even go around a corner. Sometimes they are colored, such as red or black. While the number five was called macuilli in the post-Classic period and/or early Spanish colonial era, at some earlier time five must have had the stem of chic-, given that chicuacen (six) is five plus one, chicome (seven) is five plus two, etc., repeating this pattern through the number nine. Perhaps chic- had something to do with the hand or fingers, given that the human hand has five digits. The word "macuilli" has at its beginning "ma," which is likely from the word for hand (maitl) or ma the verb to take/capture. Cui is another verb that means to take or grab, and ma plus cui comes close to macuilli. Interestingly, the number five was considered unlucky, an excess (with four being a cultural ideal, symmetrical), according to Ian Mursell of Mexicolore. But as the name Macuil was once likely part of a calendrical name, it could be lucky or not, depending upon the companion day name.