entry
algebra
/ˈæl.dʒɪ.bɹə/math of symbols and equations
From Arabic al- (the definite article 'the') + Arabic jabr (restoring).
from Arabic jabara "reintegrate, reunite, consolidate." Al-Khwarizmi's book (translated into Latin in 12c.) also...
from Medieval Latin algebra
from Medieval Latin algebra
Word Ancestry
from Arabic jabara "reintegrate, reunite, consolidate." Al-Khwarizmi's book (translated into Latin in 12c.) also...
from Medieval Latin algebra
from Medieval Latin algebra
This is one of those words that still smells faintly of the workshop. In Arabic, al-jabr meant something like “restoration” or “mending,” the sort of job a bone-setter might do with a splint and a steady hand. That makes perfect sense in the title of al-Khwarizmi’s 9th-century book, where broken pieces of an equation are put back into balance; the same idea later crossed into Latin and then English in the 1550s. So every time you see algebra tidying up x’s and y’s, you’re really watching an old act of repair, the cousin of bone-setting dressed up as mathematics.
The Story
This is one of those words that still smells faintly of the workshop. In Arabic, al-jabr meant something like “restoration” or “mending,” the sort of job a bone-setter might do with a splint and a steady hand. That makes perfect sense in the title of al-Khwarizmi’s 9th-century book, where broken pieces of an equation are put back into balance; the same idea later crossed into Latin and then English in the 1550s. So every time you see algebra tidying up x’s and y’s, you’re really watching an old act of repair, the cousin of bone-setting dressed up as mathematics.
Modern Usage
a difficult, annoying, or confusing subject; school-math torture
Popularized by: internet humor and Urban Dictionary-style joke definitions
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing algebra as torture or frustration
Kin & Kindred
From 'al-'·the definite article 'the'
From 'jabr'·restoring, reuniting, mending
Derived Terms
English words from this root