Definition:Sine/Historical Note
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Historical Note on Sine
It was Hipparchus of Nicaea who first compiled tables relating the length of the arc of a circle and the length of the chord which gives rise to it, for various angles subtended by the arc.
However, he did not actually define the concept of a sine as such.
The sine was first discussed by Aryabhata the Elder, under the name ardha-jyā, which means half-chord.
The symbol $\sin$ for sine appears to have been invented by William Oughtred in his $1657$ work Trigonometrie, although some authors attribute it to Euler.
Sources
- 1972: George F. Simmons: Differential Equations ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 3$: Appendix $\text A$: Euler
- 1992: George F. Simmons: Calculus Gems ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text {A}.21$: Euler ($\text {1707}$ – $\text {1783}$)
- 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $5$: Eternal Triangles: The origins of trigonometry