Etymology

algebra

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Today it means: Elementary algebra: A system for representing and manipulating unknown quantities (variables) in equations. Full definition →

Medieval Latin algebra ← Arabic الْجَبْر (al-jabr)
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The story

  1. Arabicجَبَرَ (jabara)
  2. Arabicالْجَبْر (al-jabr)
  3. Medieval Latinalgebra
  4. English todayalgebra

Borrowed from Medieval Latin algebra, from the Arabic الْجَبْر (al-jabr, “reunion, resetting of broken parts”) in the title of al-Khwarizmi's influential work الْكِتَاب الْمُخْتَصَر فِي حِسَاب الْجَبْر وَالْمُقَابَلَة (al-kitāb al-muḵtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala, “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.