Etymology

idempotence

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Today it means: A quality of an action such that repetitions of the action have no further effect on the outcome; the state of being idempotent. Full definition →

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The story

Latin roots, idem (“same”) + potence (“the quality of having power”) – literally, “the quality of having the same power”. Coined by 19th century American mathematician Benjamin Peirce in context of algebra.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.