Equation

How to spell equation

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce equation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does equation mean?

1. nounA mathematical statement asserting that two expressions are equal, usually containing an unknown to be solved.
2. nounA complex situation or problem in which several interacting factors must be considered together.

Equation in a sentence

• The student rearranged the equation to find the value of x.

• Rising fuel costs added a new variable to the budget equation.

• Balancing a chemical equation requires the same number of atoms on each side.

• Childcare is a major part of the equation when both parents work full time.

Where does equation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin aequatio, a noun meaning 'an equalising' or 'a making equal'. It was built on the verb aequare, 'to make level or even', which in turn came from the adjective aequus, meaning 'even, level, fair, or equal'. English took the word in during the late 1300s, at first in astronomical and mathematical writing where it described the act of balancing or reconciling quantities. From there it settled into its familiar mathematical sense of a statement that two expressions are equal, and later spread into everyday speech for any situation in which several factors must be weighed against one another. The same aequus root sits inside relatives such as 'equal', 'equator', and 'adequate', and that shared family is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the 'equa-' stem even though the ending sounds like a soft 'zhun'.

How the word is built

• equat- (from Latin aequare: to make equal)
• -ion (noun of action)