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.

مساوي لعدد ‘equal in number’

Arabic

References: PH Morelon: I.5:4, 23:4
Translation of:
Greek: ἰσάριθμος [PH Heiberg: I.5:4, 78:7]
Modern translations:
French: le nombre de … est égal à… [PH Morelon: I.5:4, 22:4-5]
German: gleich der Zahl [PH Nix: I.5:4, 79:5]