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'Algorithm' comes from the Latinised name of al-Khwarizmi, a 9th-century mathematician in Baghdad; 'algebra' comes from al-jabr, a word in the title of his best-known book.

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Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780–c. 850) worked around 820 at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, a library and centre of learning of the Abbasid caliphs. A Latin translation of his book on calculating with Indian numerals began 'Dixit Algorizmi' ('So said al-Khwarizmi'). From that form came 'algorism', the old word for reckoning with Hindu-Arabic numerals, and later 'algorithm', a fixed set of steps for solving a problem. His book on equations has al-jabr, 'restoration', in its title: it meant moving a subtracted term to the other side of an equation so that the equation stays balanced.

Türkçe oku
“Algoritma” sözcüğü, 9. yüzyılda Bağdat'ta yaşamış matematikçi Hârizmî'nin adının Latince biçiminden gelir. “Cebir” ise onun en tanınmış kitabının adındaki el-cebr kelimesinden türemiştir.

Muhammed bin Musa el-Hârizmî (yaklaşık 780–850), 820'ler dolayında Abbasi halifelerinin Bağdat'taki bilim ve kütüphane merkezi Beytü'l-Hikme'de çalıştı. Hint rakamlarıyla hesap üzerine yazdığı kitabın Latince çevirisi “Dixit Algorizmi” (“Hârizmî şöyle dedi”) diye başlıyordu. Bu addan önce Hint-Arap rakamlarıyla hesap yapmanın eski adı “algorism”, zamanla da bir problemi belirli adımlarla çözme yöntemi anlamına gelen “algoritma” doğdu. Denklemler üzerine yazdığı kitabın adındaki el-cebr ise “yerine koyma, onarma” demektir: Denklemin bir tarafından çıkarılan terimi öbür tarafa geçirip eşitliği dengede tutmayı anlatır.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Al-Khwarizmi
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