Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!ntt From: ntt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) Newsgroups: net.math Subject: Re: "algebra" (more detail) Message-ID: <691@dciem.UUCP> Date: Thu, 9-Feb-84 11:20:20 EST Article-I.D.: dciem.691 Posted: Thu Feb 9 11:20:20 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 9-Feb-84 20:01:58 EST References: <339@ihlts.UUCP>, <579@ihuxq.UUCP> Organization: NTT Systems Inc., Toronto, Canada Lines: 16 According to page 1 of Knuth volume 1, "algebra" comes from the *title* of Kitab al jabr w'al muqabala which means Rules of restoration and reduction. The book was written in the 9th century by ^ ^ ^ ^ Abu Ja`far Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi from whose name the word "algorithm" is derived, as noted previously. "Abu" means "father of", "ibn" means "son of", and "Khowa^rizm" is now Khiva, in the Uzbek SSR. Knuth adds that the book "isn't really very algebraic". Mark Brader