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By analogy with the notion of prime number in number theory.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
prime ideal
Today it means: Any (two-sided) ideal I such that for arbitrary ideals P and Q, PQ⊆I⟹P⊆I or Q⊆I. Full definition →
Today it means: Any (two-sided) ideal I such that for arbitrary ideals P and Q, PQ⊆I⟹P⊆I or Q⊆I. Full definition →
By analogy with the notion of prime number in number theory.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.