PAL

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus

_ (the underscore) is the placeholder for exactly one character.
% (the percent sign) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character.
%% (two percent signs) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character, but not for blank space (so that a search ends at word boundaries).

At the beginning and at the end, these placeholders are superfluous.

عدد ‘number’

Arabic. – Grammar: n.

References: Alm. MS Tunis: I.1:11, f. 2r:5
Translation of:
Greek: ποσότης [Alm. Heiberg: I.1, 6:1-2]
Synonyms:
كمّية[Plan. Hyp.: II.3]
كمّيّة[Alm. MS Leiden: I.1:11, f. 2v:32]