Where did the word "logarithm" come from?

math-history logarithms terminology

Where did the word logarithm come from? Any relation to the word algorithm?


Solution 1:

There is no relation between the two words.

logarithm: 1610s, Mod.L. logarithmus, coined by Scottish mathematician John Napier (1550-1617), lit. "ratio-number," from Gk. logos "proportion, ratio, word"

algorithm: was derived from the name of 8th century Persian mathematcian al-Kwarizmi.

Note: I think it's unusual for a term to derive from a person's name, especially in mathematics. I know words like "bowdlerize" (meaning to edit by removing offensive material) from Thomas Bowdler, or a "spoonerism" (a phrase constructed by exchanging syllables between words, eg "Swell foop") named after William Spooner, but in math I believe it's quite rare. The now-standard lowercase "abelian" is perhaps another example.

Related

Fractional Derivative Implications/Meaning?
Finding all integer solutions of $5^x+7^y=2^z$
Determining the number of valid TicTacToe board states in terms of board dimension
Is there an algebraic closure for the quaternions?
Pathologies in "rng"
The differential equation $y' = \frac{\ln(x^2+y^2)}{x^2 + y^2}$
How many elliptic curves have complex multiplication?
Show that $\sum^{6}_{i=1} a_{i}=\frac{15}{2}$ and $ \sum^{6}_{i=1} a^{2}_{i}=\frac{45}{4} \implies \prod_{i=1}^{6} a_{i} \leq \frac{5}{2}$
What are some interesting mathematics books/topics that are not usually covered in a standard undergraduate curriculum?
Strictly increasing function from reals to reals which is never an algebraic number
Does there exist a continuous 2-to-1 function from the sphere to itself?
Show that $\cos\big(\frac{2\pi}{n}\big)$ is an algebraic number