English
arithmetic
Arithmetic may come from Middle English arsmetike.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arsmetikeuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1992arithmetic
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arsmetikeuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1992arithmetic
Earliest quotation: 1992, Douglas M. Priest, On Properties of Floating Point Arithmetics: “Note that all correctly rounding arithmetics satisfy property A1,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’
order, reason, ready, rate, art, army, article, arm, artist, ordinary, ratio, alarm, harmony, coordinate, armor, coordination, subordinate, anarchy, ordination, ornate, ornament, articulate, inert, harmonic, harmonious, adorn, artisan, ordinate, arthritis, ordinator, aristocratic, armament, articulation, ordinal, rta, armadillo, harmonize, ordain, armature, ordo, 80 more
Another origin of arithmetic
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂rey-‘to count, arrange’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ri-dʰh₁-mó-sreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEᾰ̓ρῐθμός‘number’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀριθμέω‘reckon, count’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀριθμητῐκόςarithmētĭkós‘of or for reckoning, skilled in reckoning’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarithmēticus
- Frenchc. 1600–presentarithmétique‘arithmetic, arithmetical’
- Englishtodayarithmetic
Today it means
noun The mathematics of numbers (integers, rational numbers, real numbers, or complex numbers) under the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English arsmetike / arithmetic