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

Description

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.

The author, who holds a PhD in mathematics, is the translator of St. Albert the Great's commentary on Euclid's Elements :

• Albertus, Anthony Lo Bello, and Euclid. The Commentary of Albertus Magnus on Book 1 of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003.
• Bello, Anthony Lo. “Albertus Magnus and Mathematics: A Translation with Annotations of Those Portions of the Commentary on Euclid’s Elements Published by Bernhard Geyer.” Historia Mathematica 10, no. 1 (February 1983): 3–23.