Etymology

logarithm

log·a·ri·thm
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Today it means: For a number x, the exponent by which a given base number must be raised in order to obtain the power x. Written log _bx. For example, log ₁₀1000=3 because 10³=1000 and log ₂16=4 because 2⁴=16. Full definition →

New Latin logarithmus ← Ancient Greek λόγος
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromλόγος“ratio, proportion”
  2. New Latin · derived fromlogarithmus
  3. English todaylogarithm

From New Latin logarithmus, coined by Scottish mathematician John Napier from Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos, “ratio, proportion”) and ἀριθμός (arithmós, “number”). Napier set a geometric progression (a sequence of equal ratios) against an arithmetic progression (a sequence of equal differences), so that the logarithm of a number counts the ratios separating it from a starting value, turning multiplication into addition.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekλόγος all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.