Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Arabic ·1200s (general), 1900s (technical)
Algorithm
from al-Khwārizmī
- Meaning
- The ninth-century Persian mathematician's name, Latinised as "algorismus."
- Source word
- al-Khwārizmī
- Route into English
- Entered Latin via translations of his treatise on arithmetic; the modern sense "step-by-step procedure" is a 20th-century specialisation.
- Arrived
- 1200s (general), 1900s (technical)
From Arabic
Science, trade, and the Mediterranean transit of Andalusian scholarship gave English its Arabic stratum — especially in maths, chemistry, and commerce. Many entered through Latin or Italian.
English borrows.
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