mathematics: [16] Etymologically, mathematics means ‘something learned’. Its ultimate source was the Greek verb manthánein ‘learn’, which came from the same Indo- European base (*men-, *mon-, *mn- ‘think’) as produced English memory and mind. Its stem form math- served as a basis of a noun máthēma ‘science’, whose derived adjective mathēmatikós passed via Latin mathēmaticus and Old French mathematique into English as mathematic, now superseded by the contemporary mathematical [16]. Mathematics probably comes from French les mathématiques, a rendering of the Latin plural noun mathēmatica.
From earliest times the notion of ‘science’ was bound up with that of ‘numerical reasoning’, and when mathematics reached English it was still being used for various scientific disciplines that involved geometrical calculation, such as astronomy and physics, but gradually over the centuries it has been narrowed down to a cover term for the abstract numerical sciences such as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.
The abbreviated form maths dates from the early 20th century, the preferred American form math from the late 19th century. The original meaning of the word’s Greek ancestor is preserved in English polymath ‘person of wide learning’ [17]. => memory, mind, polymath
mathematics (n.)
1580s; see mathematic + -ics. Originally denoting the mathematical sciences collectively, including geometry, astronomy, optics.
实用例句
1. " Mathematics " is sometimes abbreviated to " math ".
“ mathematics ”有时缩写成 “ math ”.
来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
2. The degree provides a thorough grounding in both mathematics and statistics.
该学位课程将为数学和统计学打下扎实的基础。
来自柯林斯例句
3. One in five young adults was struggling with everyday mathematics.
1/5的年轻人做日常的数学计算都费劲。
来自柯林斯例句
4. We had a very good mathematics mistress who pulled me up.
我们有个很出色的女数学老师，她帮我提高了水平。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Ingrid is currently teaching Mathematics at Shimla Public School.
