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A.Word.A.Day--algorism

algorism (AL-guh-riz-uhm) noun

1. The Arabic system of numeration; the decimal system.

2. Computation with Arabic figures.

[Middle English algorisme, from Old French, from Medieval Latin algorismus after Muhammad ibn Khwarizmi-Musa Al-.]

"And other mathematical phenomena need to be explored for their role in determining how mensural systems were designed, particularly the schemes of 'harmonic numbers' which crop up in Vitry's correspondence with Gerson. Christopher Page has also recently drawn our attention to the stimulus of developments in algorism and computus ...." Lefferts, Peter M., Mensuration and Proportion Signs: Origins and Evolution (book reviews), Music & Letters, Feb 1995.

Here is another example of algorism. -Anu (-:
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." -Al Gore, US Vice President (in a CNN interview March 9, 1999).

This week's theme: eponyms.

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