In Roman numerals it indicates subtraction
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Placing a smaller value before a larger value in a number or numeral indicates that the smaller value should be subtracted from the larger value. This is commonly seen in Roman numerals, where symbols like "IV" represent 4 (5-1) and "IX" represents 9 (10-1).
Subtraction
Simply that there were some observations that were very much smaller or very much larger than most of the rest.
There is no exact symbol. What you can do is subtract the symbol of 10 (X) from the symbol of 50 (L) by placing the smaller number in front of the larger as such, XL.
You convert to a larger unit. Smaller to larger. Metre is 1000 times larger than a millimetre
It indicates that you should subtract the smaller number from the larger one to determine the number. For example: IV = 4 (I less than V, 1 less than 5) IX = 9 (I less than X, 1 less than 10) XL = 40 (X less than L, 10 less than 50)