Etymology

fractal

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Today it means: A mathematical set that has a non-integer and constant Hausdorff dimension, corresponding to a geometric figure or object that is self-similar at arbitrarily small scales and thus has infinite complexity. Full definition →

French fractal ← Latin fractus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromfractus“broken”
  2. French · derived fromfractal
  3. English todayfractal

From French fractal, from Latin fractus (“broken”), perfect passive participle of frangō (“break, fragment”).

Words from the same roots

Latinfractus all →

Pontefractfractfracto-fractusretrofract

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.