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MODERN ENTRY POINTS
WORD DOSSIERS
nounexact headword
algorithm
A finite or stepwise procedure, descended through medieval arithmetic vocabulary from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī.
OPEN THE FULL LINEAGE ↗nouncontrarian claim
algorism
The older English word for calculation with Hindu-Arabic numerals, transmitted through French and Medieval Latin from the name al-Khwārizmī.
OPEN THE FULL LINEAGE ↗noun · adjectivecontrarian claim
arithmetic
The art or practice of counting and calculation; transmitted from Greek arithmos “number” through Latin and French.
OPEN THE FULL LINEAGE ↗021
ATTESTED / RECONSTRUCTED / BOUNDARY
HISTORICAL FORMS
038
WHERE INTERPRETATION IS TESTED
CLAIMS & DISPUTES
SCHOLARLY DISPUTES / 5
resolvedprobableexact word
Is algorithm originally a Greek mathematical word?
No. The lexical line reaches the Arabic name al-Khwārizmī through Medieval Latin. Greek arithmos likely influenced the later spelling, but it is not the source of the name.
resolvedestablishedexact word
Does the word commemorate an abstract concept or a person?
It ultimately reflects a geographic personal name, “the Khwārizmian,” which became attached to transmitted arithmetic.
resolvedestablishedexact word
Was algorithm first used in 1699 or 1926?
Both dates describe different editorial claims. Oxford/MacTutor reports the spelling in 1699 for numeral calculation; Merriam-Webster gives 1926 for the currently defined finite-procedure sense.
resolvedestablishedposition text
Was algorithm the original form and algorism a corruption?
No. Algorism is older. Algorithm is the later altered form, with its th commonly explained through Greek arithmos or arithmetic influence.
resolvedestablishedposition text
Are arithmetic and algorithm cognates?
No. Arithmetic descends through Greek arithmos “number.” Algorithm descends from al-Khwārizmī's name; arithmos influenced the later spelling rather than supplying the ancestor.
CONTRARIAN TRUTHS / 3
RANK 190GRADE Aexact ranked word
Algorithm began as a person's geographic name.
Al-Khwārizmī—“the man from Khwārizm”—became Medieval Latin arithmetic, then modern procedure.
RANK 14GRADE Acontrarian claim
Arithmetic put the “ithm” into algorithm without becoming its ancestor.
Arithmetic carries Greek arithmos “number.” Algorithm carries al-Khwārizmī's name; arithmos influenced its spelling, not its genealogy.
RANK 73GRADE Acontrarian claim
Algorithm is the altered version; algorism came first.
The word began in al-Khwārizmī's geographic name. Greek arithmos later helped put “th” into algorithm without becoming its ancestor.
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BOOKS / DICTIONARIES / ARTICLES / DATABASES
SOURCES
053
FIRST USES & HISTORICAL OBJECTS
ATTESTATION WITNESSES
DIRECTLY INSPECTEDprinted book
The e-rara object record and searchable scan locate John Harris's dictionary definition of algorithm.
algorithm / algorithm / 1704
Lexicon technicum: or, an universal English dictionary of arts and sciencesexact attested form / OPEN RECORD ↗SOURCE REPORTEDlexical corpus
Source-reported English record for the algorithm spelling
algorithm / algorithm / 1699
Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics: Aexact attested form / OPEN RECORD ↗SOURCE REPORTEDlexicographic first use
Lexicographic first-use record for Merriam-Webster's currently defined technical sense
algorithm / algorithm / 1926
Algorithm — Word Historyexact attested form / OPEN RECORD ↗06
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