Etymology

surjection

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Today it means: A function for which every element of the codomain is mapped to by some element of the domain; (formally) any function f:X→Y for which for every y∈Y, there is at least one x∈X such that f(x)=y. Full definition →

French surjection ← Latin superiectiō
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromsuperiectiō“a throwing over or on; (fig.) an exaggeration, a hyperbole”
  2. French · derived fromsurjection
  3. English todaysurjection

From French surjection, introduced by the Bourbaki group in their treatise Éléments de mathématique. Ultimately borrowed from Latin superiectiō (“a throwing over or on; (fig.) an exaggeration, a hyperbole”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.