Origins of Mathematical Words : A Comprehensive Dictionary of Latin, Greek, and Arabic Roots

The most comprehensive math root dictionary ever published. Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Do you ever wonder about the origins of mathematical terms such as ergodic, biholomorphic, and strophoid? Here Anthony Lo Bello explains the roots of these and better-known words like asymmetric, gradient, and average. He provides Greek, Latin, and Arabic text in its original form to enhance each explanation. This sophisticated, one-of-a-kind reference for mathematicians and word lovers is based on decades of the author's painstaking research and work. Origins of Mathematical Words supplies definitions for words such as conchoid (a shell-shaped curve derived from the Greek noun for "mussel") and zenith (Arabic for "way overhead"), as well as approximation (from the Latin proximus , meaning "nearest"). These and hundreds of other terms wait to be discovered within the pages of this mathematical and etymological treasure chest. Cover Title Contents Preface A a-, an-, in-, im-, un- abacus Abelian -able abscissa, ordinate absolute value absorbing absorption abstract abundant number academy acceleration accumulation point accuracy acnode actuary acute acyclic add addition additive additivity ad infinitum adjacent adjoined adjoint adjunction affine aggregate aggregation aleph algebra algebraic algorithm algebra aliquot -alis, -ale Almajest, the alphabet alternating altitude alysoid ambiguous American spelling amicable amplitude analog American spelling. analogy analysis analysis situs analytic angle annihilator anomaly [of a point in the polar plane] annuity annulus ANOVA antecedent antichain anticommutative antiderivative antilogarithm antinomy antipodal antisymmetric aperiodic apex aphelion apogee apothem applied approximation approximoscope a priori, a posteriori Arabic arbitrary arc arccos cosine. arccot cotangent. arccsc Archimedean Archimedes arcsec arcsin arctan area argsinh, argcosh, argtanh, argcoth, argsech, argcsch argument. argument -aris -alis. arithmetic ascending associate associative assumption asteroid astronomical asymmetric asymptote atom augment auto autocorrelation automorphic automorphism auxiliary average axiom axis azimuth B barycentric [coordinates] base, basis Bernoulli numbers beta bi- bicompact biconditional bicontinuous bicorn bifolium bifurcate biharmonic biholomorphic bijection bilinear billion million bimodal binary binomial binormal bipartite biquadratic bisect blogging (mathematical) bonus-malus brachistochrone C c calculate calculus calendar mathematics cancel canonical cant cards cardinal cardioid Cartesian catastrophe category catenary catenoid caustic cell centenarian center centesimal central tendency centralizer century centroid chance chaos character characteristic chemicograph chi chi-square square. chord chromatic cipher circle circulant circumcenter circumference circumscribe cissoid class classical classics, the clepsydra clockwise closed closure clothoid co- cosine.) cum. cobordism cochleoid code coefficient cofactor cofunction Cogito ergo sum cogredient cohomology co- homology. cohorts, communities coin coinitial coincident collect collection collinear column combination combinatorial combinatorics commensurable common commutative commutator commute compact compactification compactness companion of the cycloid compass complement complete complex component composite composition compound compute computer concatenation concave concavity concentric conchoid conclude conclusion concrete concurrent condition conditional cone confidence [interval] interval. configuration confocal conformal congruence congruent conic conical conical conjecture conjugacy conjugate conjunction connected conoid consecutive consequence conservative consistent constant constraint construct constructible contact contingent content contingency contingent continuity continuous continuum contour contra contraction contradiction contragredient contraindications contraposition contrapositive contrary contravariant converge conversation converse conversion convex convolution coordinate coplanar coprime corollary correct correlation relative. correspondence cosecant complementarii secans, cosine. coset set. cosh catenary. cosine cotangent coterminal coth countable count counterclockwise counterexample coupon collect covariance variance covariant cover coversine criterion cross cryptography csch cube cubic, cubical cum cumulant cumulative curriculum cursive curtate curvature curve curvilinear cusp CW complex cycle cyclic cycloid cyclometric cyclotomic cyclotomy cylinder cylindrical D data de- decrease decagon decameter decidable decimal decline decomposable decomposition decreasing deductive deferent epicycle. deficient definite deformation degenerate degree del delta deltoid denominator dense density denumerable dependence dependent independent. dependent derivative design determinant deviation [standard] diagonal diagonizable diagram diameter dice Dido diffeomorphism difference differentiable differentiate. differential differentiate. differentiate differentiation digit digital digraph dihedral dilation dimension Diophantine direct directional director [circle] directrix dis- disc disconnected disconnection discontinuity discrete discriminant disjoint disk dispersion dissimilar dissipative distance distinguishable distribution distributive divergence divergent divide dividend divisibility division divisor dodecagon dodecahedron domain dominant double droid dual duality duodecimal duplication [of the cube] dyadic dynamical E e eccentricity echelon ecliptic efficient [estimator] elastic election element elementary elimination ellipse ellipsoid elliptic elliptical emeritus empirical endomorphism energy entire entropy enumerable enumerate enumeration enumerate enunciation epicycle epicycloid epimorphism epitrochoid epsilon equal equant quadrant. epicycle. equation equator equi- equiangular equicontinuous equidistant equidistribution equi- distribution. equilateral equilibrium equipollent equipotent equipotential equiprobability equivalence equivalent ergodic error escribed essential estimate estimator ethnomathematics eu- Euclid Euclidean eureka evaluate [teaching] evaluation event evolute exact example excenter escribed. excess excircle escribed. exclusionary exhaustion expand expansion expectation expected value experiential explicit exponent exponential extend extension exterior extouch excircle. extract extrapolate extremal extreme F F face facilitator factor factorable factorial factorization fallacy false family figurate number figure filter finite fixed fluxion focal focus folium folium Cartesianum form formula fractal fraction frequency friction frustum function functional fundamental G gamma gematria gender generalization generator Genoan Lottery genre genus geodesic geometric geometry Gibbon global glottochronology gnomon -gon goniometry grad grade grade point average gradient gram graph gravitation gravity gravity gyration H harmonic haversine -hedron helicoid helix hemicontinuous hemisphere heptagon hereditary heterodyne heterological heuristic hexagon hexagram hippopede histogram holomorphic homeo- homeomorphic homeomorphism. homeomorphism homo- homogeneity homogeneous homologous homology homomorphism homoscedasticity homothetic homotopic homotopy horizon, horizontal hour hyper- hyperbola hyperbolic hyperbolic functions hyperbolic spiral hyperboloid hypercomplex hypercube hypergeometric hyperplane hyperspace hypo- hypocycloid hypotenuse hypothesis hypotrochoid I -ical icosian ideal idempotent identity image imaginary implication implicit imply improper in- incenter incircle inch incident incircle inclination include incommensurable incompatible incomplete inconsistent increase increment indefinite in-degree independence independent indeterminate index indicator indicatrix indirect individual induce induction. induction inductive induction. inequality inequivalence equivalence. inertia inference inferior infimum infinite infinitesimal infinitive infinity inflection information initial injection inner innovation inscribe instantaneous integer integral integrand integration intercept interest interior intermediate interpolate intersect interval intrinsic intuitionism invariant inverse inversion involute involute of the catenary involute of the circle involution irrational irreducible -ism isochrone isogonal isolate isometric isometry isomorphic homomorphism. isomorphism isoperimetric isosceles isotropic iterate -ive -ize J j Jacobian join joint K K kampyle kilogram kilometer kinetic kurtosis L lacuna lacunary lambda lamina large lateral Latin square latitude latus rectum lemma lemniscate lens level lexicographic liberal education limaçon limit line lineal linear liter literal lituus local locus log logarithm logarithmic logic logistic lognormal -logy long longitude loxodrome loxodromic lune M magic magnitude major mantissa marginal mass math mathematics mathlete mathophile matrix matroid MatSciNet maximal maximum mean measurable measure mechanics median medium member mensuration mentee, mentor meridian meromorphic morphic. metacompact metadata metaharmonic metamathematics meter method metric metrizable mid- middle midpoint mile millennium million minimal minimax minimum minor minus minute mirror mixed mnemonic mode model modular module modulo modulus modus ponens modus tollens moment momentum moment monadic polyadic. monic monodromy monogenic monoid monomial monomorphism monotone monotonic Monte Carlo morphic morphism motion multi- multifoil multinomial multiple multiplicand multiply multiple. multiplicity multiply multiple. multiplier multiply multiset multivariable mutual Mysterium Cosmographicum N natural number necessary negation negative nephroid nerve -ness nilpotent nodal node Noli tangere circulos meos. non- nonagon non-homogeneity non-homogeneous non-secancy Non sequitur. non-singular norm normal normalization normalize Norman normed norm notation nucleus null number numeral Numb3rs numeracy numerals, Arabic gematria numerator numerology gematria. O ob oblate oblique oblong obtuse octagon octahedron octant -oid -ology -logy. omega operator opposite optimal orbit order ordinal ordinary ordinate abscissa. orient orientation origin ortho- orthocenter orthogonal orthographic orthonormal oscillate osculating osculation osculating -ous out-degree oval P pair para- parabola parabolic parabolic spiral paraboloid paracompact compact. paradox parallel parallelepiped parallelogram parallelotope parameter parametric paraproduct parenthesis parsimony parity part partial particular partition Peano postulate. pedal curve pencil pendulum penta- pentagon pentagram per percent percentile perfect peri- perigee perigon perihelion perimeter period periodic periphery permutation permute per. perpendicular perpetual perspective petal phase phi philosophy pi piecewise clockwise. piercing point point. piriform place planar plane plus point polar pole poly- polyadic polygon poly- -gon. polyhedron poly- -hedron. polymath project polynomial polytope pons asinorum porism position positive postulate potential pound pound symbol # power PowerPoint pre- precalculus predicate premise preperiodic primary prime primitive principal principle. Principia Mathematica principle prior prism prismatoid prism. prismoid pro- probability problem produce product program progression project projection projective project prolate trochoid. proof probability. proper property proportion proportional proposition prosthaphairesis protasis protractor prove pseudo- pseudoequicontinuity pseudoidentity matrix pseudometric pseudonorm pseudoperfect pseudoprime pseudosphere pseudotangent pseudovertex Ptolemaic system pure pyramid Pythagorean Q Q.E.D. Q.E.F. quadri- or quadr- quadrangle quadrant quadratic quadratrix quadrature quadric quadrifolium quadrilateral quadrivium quadruple quantifier quantity quarter quartic quartile quasi quasianalytic quasiperfect perfect. quaternion queue quintic quintuple quotient R radian radical radicand radius radius vector radix rate ratio rational rationalize ray reaction real R.E.A.L. reason reciprocal rectangle rectify rectilinear recurrent recurring recursive reduce reducible reductio ad absurdum redundant reflection reflector reflexive refraction region regress regression regula [loci] falsi regular regulus related relation relative remainder removable, removeable rencontre replication representation repunit residual residue resolution resolvent resonance respectively restriction result resultant retract retraction reverse reversion revolution revolve rho rhodonea rose. rhombohedron rhomboid rhombus rhumb right rigid robust Roman numerals rose rosette rotate rotation rotund roulette round Rousseau’s problem ruin rule regula ruler S saddle salient saltus salient sample example. sampling satisfy saturated scalar scale scalene scattergram science scientific secant sech second secondary section sector secular segment self-adjoint transformation adjoint transformation. semester semi- semi-algebra semicircle semi-closed semi-conjugate axis semi-continuous semi-cubical parabola semi-finite semi-group semi-major semi-metric semi-minor semi-norm semi-perfect semi-ring separable separation separatrix septagon sequence sequential series serpentine sesquicentennial sesquiplicate set sexagenarian sexagesimal sextic sextuple sigma sigma-algebra (σ-algebra) sigma-bounded (σ-bounded) sigma-compact (σ-compact) sigma-field sigma-finite (σ-finite) sigma-homomorphism (σ-homomorphism) sigma-ideal (σ-ideal) sigma-isomorphism (σ-isomorphism) sigma-ring (σ-ring) sigma. sign signature significance significant significant digits signum function similar similarity similitude simple simplex simplicial simplify simulation simultaneous instantaneous sine single singleton singular single. singularity sinh sinusoid solid solution solvable space species specific spectral spectrum sphere spherical spheroid spiral sporadic square stable standard stationary statistical statistical inference statistics stereographic stochastic stochastic discrimination strategy strict strophoid student Student’s t sub subadditivity subbase subclass subcover subdiagonal subfactorial subfield subgroup subharmonic submatrix submodule submultiple subnormal subregion subring subscript subsequence subset subspace substitution subtangent subtend subtract subtraction subtrahend subtract. success succession successive sufficient sum summa summable summation super superadditive super additive. superdiagonal superharmonic superimpose superior superpose superposition superscript superset supplement support supremum surd surface surjective survey syl-, sym-, syn-, sys- syllogism symbol symmetric symmetry symplectic synthesis synthetic system T t table tabular tangency tangent. tangential tangent. tangent tanh tautochrone tautology tensor tenure tera- term terminal ternary tessellation test tetracuspid tetrahedron text theorem theory theta Timaeus -tive topological topology. topology torsion torus total totient trace tractor tractory tractrix trajectory transcendental transfinite transform transformation transitive translate translation transpose transposition transverse transversal trapezium trapezoid trapezoidal triad triangle triangular triangulate triangulation trichotomy trident trifolium trigonometrical trigonometry trihedral trilateral trillion trinomial trisect trisector trisectrix trivial trochoid curtate, prolate, cycloid. truncate tunnel type I , type II error U ultrafilter umbilical umbra unconditional undecidable undecillion undefined undetermined uni- unicursal uniform uniformity unilateral unimodal mode. union unipotent unique unit unital unitary unity universal universe unknown usual V valence valid valuation value vanish variable variance variate variation vault vector vectorial velocity versed sine versiera vertex vertical vertex. vibration vigintillion vinculum virgule virtual volume vulgar W word X x-axis Y y-axis Z z-axis zenith zero Bibliography Do you ever wonder about the origins of mathematical terms such as ergodic, biholomorphic, and strophid? Here Anthony Lo Bello explains the roots of these and better-known words like asymmetric, gradient, and average. He provides Greek, Latin, and Arabic text in its original form to enhance each explanation. This sophisticated, one-of-a-kind reference for mathematicians and word lovers is based on decades of the author's painstaking research and work. Origins of Mathematical Words supplies definitions for words such as conchoid (a shell-shaped curve derived from the Greek noun for "mussel") and zenith (Arabic for "way overhead"), as well as approximation (from the Latin proximus, meaning "nearest"). These and hundreds of other terms wait to be discovered within the pages of this mathematical and etymological treasure chest. -- from back cover