surd

The story

1. Arabic · derived fromجِذْر أَصَمّ“deaf root”
2. Latin · borrowed fromsurdus“deaf, mute”
3. English todaysurd

First attested in the mid 16th century from Latin surdus (“deaf, mute”), used in mathematics for “irrational,” reflecting ἄλογος (álogos, “irrational, speechless”) as found in Euclid, apparently transmitted via Arabic جِذْر أَصَمّ (jiḏr ʔaṣamm, “deaf root”). The phonetic sense, “voiceless,” emerged in the 18th century. Doublet of surdo.