Definition:Algebra (Mathematical Branch)
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Definition
Algebra is the branch of mathematics which studies the techniques of manipulation of objects and expressions.
Also see
- Results about algebra can be found here.
Linguistic Note
The word algebra originates from the Arabic word al-ğabr, meaning balancing, reduction or restoration.
It originates from the name of a book, circa 825 C.E., by Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi:
- Al-Kitāb al-muḫtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-ğabr wa-l-muqābala (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing)
Sources
- 1946: Alfred Tarski: Introduction to Logic and to the Methodology of Deductive Sciences (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 1.1$: Constants and variables (footnote)
- 1971: Allan Clark: Elements of Abstract Algebra ... (previous) ... (next): Introduction
- 1989: Ephraim J. Borowski and Jonathan M. Borwein: Dictionary of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: algebra: 1.
- 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $4$: Lure of the Unknown: Algebra
- 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Entry: algebra