Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mathematics” come from?

Mathematics comes from Latin mathematica, from Ancient Greek μαθηματικός meaning "of learning or science," itself from Ancient Greek μάθημα meaning "learning" and the suffix -ικός, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- meaning "to put or place."

mathematics (English): An abstract representational system used in the...

Definitions

  1. An abstract representational system used in the...

Ancestry of “mathematics”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishmathematicmathematical
2Old Frenchmathematique—
3Latinmathēmatica—
4Latinmathēmaticus—
5Ancient Greekμαθηματικόςscientific, esp. mathematical; astronomical;...
6Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
7Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
8Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “mathematics”

  • mathematical
  • mathematically
  • maths
  • nonmathematical
  • ethnomathematics
  • metamathematics
  • metamathematical
  • unmathematical
  • ethnomathematical
  • biomathematics
  • biomathematical
  • physicomathematical
  • quasimathematical
  • nonmathematically
  • iatromathematics
  • pseudomathematical
  • pseudomathematics
  • iatromathematical
  • unmathematically
  • geomathematical
  • physicomathematics
  • astromathematics
  • mathemaku
  • geomathematics
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →