algebra (English)

Where does "algebra" come from?

The English word algebra was borrowed from Medieval Latin 'algebra'[1], which itself derives from the Arabic word 'al-jabr'[1][2]. The Arabic root carries the original meaning of 'reunion, resetting of broken parts'[1][2]. This term entered European usage from the title of an influential ninth century work by the mathematician al-Khwarizmi, which used the phrase in the context of calculation by completion and balancing[1]. Historically, the word was also used in English to mean the surgical treatment of a dislocated or fractured bone, directly reflecting its Arabic origin relating to the resetting of broken parts.

Full etymology tree

• algebra (English), 'Elementary algebra: A system for representing and manipulating unknown quantities (variables) in equations.'
  • borrowed algebra (Latin), 'algebra'
    • borrowed الْجَبْر (al-jabr) (Arabic)

Ancestors

• algebra (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• 代数 (Chinese)
• 代數 (Chinese)
• 代數 (Chinese)
• abelian algebra (English)
• Abelian algebra (English)
• abstract algebra (English)
• Albert algebra (English)
• algebraism (English)
• algebraist (English)
• algebraization (English)
• algebraize (English)
• algebralike (English)

Related words

• calculus (English)

Sources

1. algebra (English) - Wiktionary
2. algebra (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. جبر (Arabic) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris