Etymology

theorem

the·o·rem
T1H4E1O1R1E1M3

Today it means: A mathematical statement of some importance that has been proven to be true. Minor theorems are often called propositions. Theorems which are not very interesting in themselves but are an essential part of a bigger theorem's proof are called lemmas. Full definition →

Middle French théorème ← Late Latin theōrēma ← Ancient Greek θεώρημα
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromθεώρημα“speculation, proposition to be proved”
  2. Late Latin · derived fromtheōrēma
  3. Middle French · derived fromthéorème
  4. English todaytheorem

From Middle French théorème, from Late Latin theōrēma, from Ancient Greek θεώρημα (theṓrēma, “speculation, proposition to be proved”) (Euclid), from θεωρέω (theōréō, “to look at, view, consider, examine”), from θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator”), from θέα (théa, “a view”) + ὁράω (horáō, “to see, look”). See also theory, and theater.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.