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Origin and history of mathematics

mathematics(n.)

"the science of quantity; the abstract science which investigates the concepts of numerical and spatial relations," 1580s; see mathematic (the older form of the word in English, attested from late 14c.) + -ics. Originally one of three branches of Aristotelian theoretical science, along with first philosophy (or metaphysics) and physics (or natural philosophy).

Mystical doctrines as to the relation of time to eternity are also reinforced by pure mathematics, for mathematical objects, such as numbers, if real at all, are eternal and not in time. Such eternal objects can be conceived as God's thoughts. [Bertrand Russell, "A History of Western Philosophy"]

also from 1580s

Entries linking to mathematics

mathematic(n.)

"mathematical science," late 14c. as singular noun, mathematik (replaced since early 17c. by mathematics, q.v.), from Old French mathematique and directly from Latin mathematica (plural), from Greek mathēmatike tekhnē "mathematical science," feminine singular of mathēmatikos (adj.) "relating to mathematics, scientific, astronomical; pertaining to learning, disposed to learn," from mathēma (genitive mathēmatos) "science, knowledge, mathematical knowledge; a lesson," literally "that which is learnt;" from manthanein "to learn," from PIE root *mendh- "to learn."

As an adjective, "pertaining to mathematics," from c. 1400, from French mathématique or directly from Latin mathematicus.

math(n.1)

American English shortening of mathematics, 1890; the British preference, maths, is attested from 1911. "Math. is used as an abbreviation in written English in the U.K. but not in speech, the normal form being Maths" [OED].

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Trends of mathematics

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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mathematical
"of, pertaining to, or of the nature of mathematics," early 15c., from Medieval Latin mathematicus "of or belonging to mathematics...
googol
number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeroes, 1940, in "Mathematics and the Imagination," a layman's book on mathematics...
lemma
1560s, in mathematics, from Greek lemma (plural lemmata) "something received or taken; an argument; something taken for granted...
denominator
1540s, in mathematics, "that term of a fraction which indicates the value of the fractional unit" (commonly the number written...
quadratic
In mathematics by 1660s; the algebraic quadratic equations (1680s) are so called because they involve the square and no higher...
quotient
in mathematics, "the result of the process of division, quantity resulting from the division of one number by another, number...
quadrivium
"arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy" (the four branches of mathematics, according to the Pythagoreans), by 1751, from...
science
mid-14c., "state or fact of knowing; what is known, knowledge (of something) acquired by study; information;" also "assurance of knowledge, certitude, certainty," from Old French science "knowledge, learning, application; corpus of human knowledge" (12c.), from Latin scientia "kn
first
Old English fyrst "foremost, going before all others; chief, principal," also (though rarely) as an adverb, "at first, originally," superlative of fore; from Proto-Germanic *furista- "foremost" (source also of Old Saxon fuirst "first," Old High German furist, Old Norse fyrstr, Da
philosophy
c. 1300, philosophie, "knowledge, learning, scholarship, scholarly works, body of knowledge," from Old French filosofie "philosophy, knowledge" (12c., Modern French philosophie) and directly from Latin philosophia, from Greek philosophia "love of knowledge, pursuit of wisdom; sys

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