Etymology

p-adic

Today it means: Of, pertaining to, (ultimately) derived from or defined in the context of p-adic numbers. Full definition →

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The story

From p + -adic. The letter p follows common number theory usage in representing an arbitrary prime number; the suffix -adic signals that properties of the number p (generally, those due to its being prime, and specifically those of a specified p) are fundamental to the theory and determine the properties of the resulting construction.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.