Scribd
Upload
20 views

Etymology of Calculus

The document discusses the etymology of the word calculus. Calculus originated from the Latin word for small pebble which were used for counting and calculations. In mathematics, calculus refers to courses on elementary mathematical analysis focused on functions and limits, and includes differential calculus and integral calculus.

Uploaded by

vijay kumar honnali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
20 views

Etymology of Calculus

The document discusses the etymology of the word calculus. Calculus originated from the Latin word for small pebble which were used for counting and calculations. In mathematics, calculus refers to courses on elementary mathematical analysis focused on functions and limits, and includes differential calculus and integral calculus.

Uploaded by

vijay kumar honnali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Etymology

Look up calculus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


In mathematics education, calculus denotes courses of elementary mathematical analysis, which are
mainly devoted to the study of functions and limits. The word calculus is Latin for "small pebble"
(the diminutive of calx, meaning "stone"), a meaning which still persists in medicine. Because such
pebbles were used for counting out distances,[5] tallying votes, and doing abacus arithmetic, the word
came to mean a method of computation. In this sense, it was used in English at least as early as
1672, several years before the publications of Leibniz and Newton.[6]
In addition to differential calculus and integral calculus, the term is also used for naming specific
methods of calculation and related theories that seek to model a particular concept in terms of
mathematics. Examples of this convention include propositional calculus, Ricci calculus, calculus of
variations, lambda calculus, sequent calculus, and process calculus. Furthermore, the term
"calculus" has variously been applied in ethics and philosophy, for such systems
as Bentham's felicific calculus, and the ethical calculus

You might also like