Definition:Geometry

Definition

Geometry is a branch of mathematics which studies such matters as form, position, dimension and various other properties of ordinary space.

It has been suggested that geometry can be divided into $3$ main branches:

Metrical geometry, that is to say, what is understood as geometry proper

Projective geometry

Analytic geometry

Also see

• Results about geometry can be found here.

Historical Note

The Greek historian Herodotus visited Egypt in about $450$ BCE and reported that the annual flooding of the Nile would wipe out all the boundaries between fields.

It is suggested that the discipline of geometry may have arisen there, from the need for the rulers to re-establish those boundaries subsequently.

Linguistic Note

The word geometry derives from the Greek words meaning Earth and measure, suggesting that the discipline arose from the need to measure land.

Sources

• 1952: T. Ewan Faulkner: Projective Geometry (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: Introduction: The Propositions of Incidence: $1.1$: Historical Note
• 1965: A.M. Arthurs: Probability Theory ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $2$: Probability and Discrete Sample Spaces: $2.1$ Introduction
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): geometry
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): geometry
• 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): geometry