Where does “mathematician” come from?
Mathematician comes from Middle French mathematicien, derived from Middle French mathematique, from Latin mathematicus, from Ancient Greek μαθηματικός, combining μανθάνω meaning to learn with the suffix -ικός.
mathematician (English): An expert on mathematics
Ancestry of “mathematician”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | mathematicien | mathematician |
| 2 | Middle French | mathematique | — |
| 3 | Latin | mathēmaticus | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μαθηματικός | scientific, esp. mathematical; astronomical;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ικός | of or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -κός | forms adjectives with the sense of 'of or... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
Words derived from “mathematician”