Arithmetic

How to spell arithmetic

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce arithmetic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does arithmetic mean?

1. nounThe branch of mathematics dealing with the basic operations on numbers, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
2. adjectiveRelating to or based on arithmetic, as in a sequence that increases by a constant amount.

Arithmetic in a sentence

• noun

  The accountant checked the arithmetic on the invoice twice before sending it.

• adjective

  The salary scheme rises in an arithmetic progression, adding the same amount each year.

• noun

  Mental arithmetic helps her split the restaurant bill without reaching for a calculator.

• adjective

  The report quoted the arithmetic mean rather than the median for the survey results.

Where does arithmetic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek arithmos, meaning simply 'number', from which the Greeks formed arithmetike tekhne, literally 'the art of counting'. The phrase was eventually shortened so that the adjective arithmetike came to name the discipline itself. Latin took it over as arithmetica, and it travelled into English through Old French as arismetike in the medieval period, before scholars reshaped the spelling to match the Greek and Latin originals and restore the 'th'. That learned correction is exactly why the modern word keeps the tricky 'th' in the middle, even though it is not strongly heard in speech. The same arithmos root also lies hidden in 'logarithm', a useful reminder that the spelling involves 'arithm' rather than a casual 'rithm'.

How the word is built

• arithm- (from Greek arithmos: number)
• -etic (adjective/noun suffix: relating to)