xvi

XVI is the Roman numeral for the number sixteen. It is composed of X (10) plus V (5) plus I (1), totaling 16. In systems that use Roman numerals, XVI denotes the sixteenth item in a sequence, the sixteenth year, or a sixteenth person in a lineage.

Notable uses include royal regnal numbers. Louis XVI of France was king from 1774 to 1792, and Carl XVI Gustaf is the current king of Sweden. In these names, the roman numeral XVI identifies the ruler’s place in a dynastic sequence rather than a date. The ordinal form in French is XVIe, used when the sixteenth is written as an ordinal in dates or titles.

Beyond names, XVI appears in contexts that label editions, volumes, or chapters where roman numerals are preferred to Arabic numerals. It can also serve in historical timelines and ceremonial listings to indicate the sixteenth item or year without relying on an Arabic numeral.

In summary, XVI primarily functions as the numeral for 16 in Roman numerals, with common applications in labeling rulers, dates, and enumerated parts of books, programs, or events.