Please post the nth example.
May 24, 2012 1:37 PM Subscribe
Terms from math that have become idiomatic in English?
I'm looking for other words and phrases such as "nth" - terms that came from mathematics originally that have become commonly used in everyday speech. Not looking for silly puns like "easy as pi" or things that refer to math, such as "do the math" but rather things borrowed from math and used in everyday English speech.
I'm looking for other words and phrases such as "nth" - terms that came from mathematics originally that have become commonly used in everyday speech. Not looking for silly puns like "easy as pi" or things that refer to math, such as "do the math" but rather things borrowed from math and used in everyday English speech.
The odds are...
posted by ootandaboot at 1:39 PM on May 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by ootandaboot at 1:39 PM on May 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
"the other side of the equation"
posted by Wordwoman at 1:40 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Wordwoman at 1:40 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
"The sum total of..."
(Although someone with access to the OED should check if the math-usage predates the figurative usage.)
posted by griphus at 1:42 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
(Although someone with access to the OED should check if the math-usage predates the figurative usage.)
posted by griphus at 1:42 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
"square the circle"
posted by peacheater at 1:42 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by peacheater at 1:42 PM on May 24, 2012
Best answer: " ... exponentially ..." While that means something very specific mathematically, it is used to replace "rapidly" in everyday use.
posted by hariya at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by hariya at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2012
"I'm dating this girl, let's call her G, and my friend, F."
posted by cmoj at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by cmoj at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
Best answer: "Exponentially", which I sometimes hear people use as an all-purpose intensifier.
posted by metaman livingblog at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by metaman livingblog at 1:43 PM on May 24, 2012
Best answer: "Put two and two together."
posted by peacheater at 1:46 PM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by peacheater at 1:46 PM on May 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
"Additionally...."
"Fractionally...."
"The situation has pluses and minuses."
posted by orange swan at 1:47 PM on May 24, 2012
"Fractionally...."
"The situation has pluses and minuses."
posted by orange swan at 1:47 PM on May 24, 2012
"We removed him from the team, and the team's work improved. It was addition by subtraction."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:51 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:51 PM on May 24, 2012
Infinity
posted by greta simone at 1:52 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by greta simone at 1:52 PM on May 24, 2012
"In all probability..."
posted by peacheater at 1:54 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by peacheater at 1:54 PM on May 24, 2012
"X equals"
posted by littlecatfeet at 1:55 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by littlecatfeet at 1:55 PM on May 24, 2012
"Orders of magnitude..."
posted by trip and a half at 1:55 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by trip and a half at 1:55 PM on May 24, 2012
My assumptions:
It all adds up.
Let's look at the plusses and minuses of the situation.
Lowest common denominator.
We'll have to factor that in.
It's ... congruent/obtuse.
posted by tilde at 1:56 PM on May 24, 2012
It all adds up.
Let's look at the plusses and minuses of the situation.
Lowest common denominator.
We'll have to factor that in.
It's ... congruent/obtuse.
posted by tilde at 1:56 PM on May 24, 2012
Eigenvalue. Or maybe that's just me!
posted by sbutler at 1:59 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by sbutler at 1:59 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
The bottom line (which is technically accounting, I suppose).
posted by SuperSquirrel at 2:15 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by SuperSquirrel at 2:15 PM on May 24, 2012
Zero sum.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:17 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by kirkaracha at 2:17 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
How about the various metaphorical references to dimension, i.e., "The characters were one-dimensional?"
posted by scarylarry at 2:19 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by scarylarry at 2:19 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
"What are the variables in this situation?"
posted by peacheater at 2:22 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by peacheater at 2:22 PM on May 24, 2012
"To draw a parallel between..."
posted by peacheater at 2:23 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by peacheater at 2:23 PM on May 24, 2012
It's really only used by geeks, but I love the everyday use of modulo. No other English word says it quite as clearly and succinctly.
posted by alms at 2:24 PM on May 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by alms at 2:24 PM on May 24, 2012 [6 favorites]
"Axiom"
posted by mellifluous at 2:26 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by mellifluous at 2:26 PM on May 24, 2012
Nerdy and obscure, but still making their way out there:
"Within epsilon"
"eigen-" (eigenfaces, eigenstudents, eigenstories, etc.)
"in the limit"
"axiomatic"
Plus "exponentially" and all the others people have written here. Fun fact: the technical meaning of the word "random" (defined equivalently by Kolmogorov, Martin-Lof, Chaitin, and Solomonoff) is actually exactly the same as what we mean when someone tells us a fact and we respond "that's random".
posted by pmb at 2:28 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Within epsilon"
"eigen-" (eigenfaces, eigenstudents, eigenstories, etc.)
"in the limit"
"axiomatic"
Plus "exponentially" and all the others people have written here. Fun fact: the technical meaning of the word "random" (defined equivalently by Kolmogorov, Martin-Lof, Chaitin, and Solomonoff) is actually exactly the same as what we mean when someone tells us a fact and we respond "that's random".
posted by pmb at 2:28 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Using 'delta' to refer to change, as in plus/delta charts.
"maps onto..."
posted by sleepingcbw at 2:42 PM on May 24, 2012
"maps onto..."
posted by sleepingcbw at 2:42 PM on May 24, 2012
Best answer: Also, one-to-one. And, if Jack Donaghy beat Qaddafi in arm wrestling, and I beat Jack, then transitively I beat Qadaffi!
(I was reminded of the first one by Finite Simple Group (Of Order Two).)
posted by sleepingcbw at 2:53 PM on May 24, 2012
(I was reminded of the first one by Finite Simple Group (Of Order Two).)
posted by sleepingcbw at 2:53 PM on May 24, 2012
Best answer: At griphus' suggestion I checked a bunch of these examples out in the OED. Looks like in a number of these cases the "ordinary" use of the word predates the mathematical use. Some examples:
addition n. 1. "Something which is added or joined to another thing; an appendix, an augmentation; (also) a person who becomes part of a family or other group of people." c. 1400. 2. "The process of adding two or more numbers, amounts, etc., to find their sum; an instance of this." c. 1425.
congruent adj. 1. "Accordant, suitable, proper" c. 1475. 4. Geom. "Coincident, capable of being exactly superimposed" 1706.
function n. 3. "The special kind of activity proper to anything; the mode of action by which it fulfils its purpose" 1600. 6. Math. "A variable quantity regarded in its relation to one or more other variables in terms of which it may be expressed, or on the value of which its own value depends." 1779. (although here I think there's a case to be made that the phrase "is a function of" got borrowed back from math jargon into more idiomatic English)
sum n. 1. "A quantity or amount of money" 1290. 6. Math "The number, quantity, or magnitude resulting from the addition of two or more numbers, quantities, or magnitudes." c. 1430. (there is an entry for sum-total but it's hard to distinguish a mathematical meaning from a general one there)
Not to spoil anyone's fun or anything.
posted by ootandaboot at 2:58 PM on May 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
addition n. 1. "Something which is added or joined to another thing; an appendix, an augmentation; (also) a person who becomes part of a family or other group of people." c. 1400. 2. "The process of adding two or more numbers, amounts, etc., to find their sum; an instance of this." c. 1425.
congruent adj. 1. "Accordant, suitable, proper" c. 1475. 4. Geom. "Coincident, capable of being exactly superimposed" 1706.
function n. 3. "The special kind of activity proper to anything; the mode of action by which it fulfils its purpose" 1600. 6. Math. "A variable quantity regarded in its relation to one or more other variables in terms of which it may be expressed, or on the value of which its own value depends." 1779. (although here I think there's a case to be made that the phrase "is a function of" got borrowed back from math jargon into more idiomatic English)
sum n. 1. "A quantity or amount of money" 1290. 6. Math "The number, quantity, or magnitude resulting from the addition of two or more numbers, quantities, or magnitudes." c. 1430. (there is an entry for sum-total but it's hard to distinguish a mathematical meaning from a general one there)
Not to spoil anyone's fun or anything.
posted by ootandaboot at 2:58 PM on May 24, 2012 [3 favorites]
"Divide by zero" as a general term for those events which result in madness, chaos, etc.
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:03 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by Sticherbeast at 3:03 PM on May 24, 2012
nthing the above to the nth degree.
posted by moira at 3:09 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by moira at 3:09 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
A piece of management jargon I hate: "inflection point"
posted by notme at 3:36 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by notme at 3:36 PM on May 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The word "paradigm" has come into common usage, but the way it gets used commonly (e.g. to refer to the desktop GUI) bears little resemblance to how a mathematician uses the word.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:55 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:55 PM on May 24, 2012
Best answer: To further ootandaboot's comment, random, axiom, infinity, probability, and factor were all non-mathematical in their first uses. They may have been popularized or influenced by mathematics, but they don't come first from there.
However, tangent, exponential and parameter are clearcut examples of mathematical jargon entering common speech.
posted by Jehan at 4:15 PM on May 24, 2012
However, tangent, exponential and parameter are clearcut examples of mathematical jargon entering common speech.
posted by Jehan at 4:15 PM on May 24, 2012
It's not common usage, but I wish it were: A friend introduced me to the expression "assuming a perfectly spherical cow" (from a college physics class discussion of the flight path of flung cattle) as shorthand to indicate "I acknowledge that there are other factors in this situation, but I don't think they matter enough to bring them up here".
posted by richyoung at 5:07 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by richyoung at 5:07 PM on May 24, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks, tilde, for pluses and minuses, and everyone for pitching in on this. Going to the OED was a great idea. I was surprised that it turns out infinity has more of a religious origin - attribute of a deity - in English (Chaucer), though goes back to 5th century BCE Zeno's paradox, but first math use in English is late 17th century. Random also has a very complicated history. The orthogonal link was neat, but I can't say that's in common use just yet. Thanks everyone for the obscure and specialized examples I hadn't heard of before, as well.
posted by Listener at 8:50 PM on May 24, 2012
posted by Listener at 8:50 PM on May 24, 2012
"In terms of..." has a specific meaning in mathematics, and is commonly used in business jargon.
"We now express the parameterised form in terms of <variable>
"What are the implications in terms of bugdet?"
For some reason, this amuses me.
posted by Combat Wombat at 11:48 PM on May 24, 2012
"We now express the parameterised form in terms of <variable>
"What are the implications in terms of bugdet?"
For some reason, this amuses me.
posted by Combat Wombat at 11:48 PM on May 24, 2012
Best answer: - go off at a tangent
- "Q.E.D." at the end of arguments (or maybe this is just with nerdy math major brothers?)
- to extrapolate a point
- the learning curve / a steep learning curve - (not sure if mathematical)
- we need to factor in all the variables/constants
- inversely or directly proportional - "The amount he spent on her belated birthday present was directly proportional to his feelings of guilt at having forgotten it in the first place." "I resent the stereotype that a woman's cup size is inversely proportional to her IQ." (the bigger the x, the smaller the y)
- corollary - "the corollary of [A] is [B]", such that A is a consequence of B
dividend
- eccentric - 1561 OED gives the astronomical meaning. Earliest use as "odd" or "whimsical" in OED 1685.
Maybe a look through the other words at the site linked above ("Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics") will give you more ideas. I just got lazy at E. (Or like they say in physics, I lost momentum, then inertia got the better of me.)
posted by pimli at 4:25 AM on May 25, 2012
- "Q.E.D." at the end of arguments (or maybe this is just with nerdy math major brothers?)
- to extrapolate a point
- the learning curve / a steep learning curve - (not sure if mathematical)
- we need to factor in all the variables/constants
- inversely or directly proportional - "The amount he spent on her belated birthday present was directly proportional to his feelings of guilt at having forgotten it in the first place." "I resent the stereotype that a woman's cup size is inversely proportional to her IQ." (the bigger the x, the smaller the y)
- corollary - "the corollary of [A] is [B]", such that A is a consequence of B
dividend
- eccentric - 1561 OED gives the astronomical meaning. Earliest use as "odd" or "whimsical" in OED 1685.
Maybe a look through the other words at the site linked above ("Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics") will give you more ideas. I just got lazy at E. (Or like they say in physics, I lost momentum, then inertia got the better of me.)
posted by pimli at 4:25 AM on May 25, 2012
I wanted to contribute "hyperbolic" but after reading Jehan's answer I suppose this may be one of those terms which had a mathematical meaning second. A few minutes etymological research online didn't immediately settle the question.
posted by jepler at 5:44 AM on May 25, 2012
posted by jepler at 5:44 AM on May 25, 2012
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posted by Tomorrowful at 1:38 PM on May 24, 2012 [5 favorites]