logarithm
/ˈlɑ.ɡə.ɹɪ.ð(ə)m/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "For a currency which uses denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, etc., each jump in the base-10 logarithm from one denomination to the next higher is either 0.3010 or 0.3979."
Etymology
From New Latin logarithmus, coined by Scottish mathematician John Napier from Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos, “ratio, proportion”) and ἀριθμός (arithmós, “number”). Napier set a geometric progression (a sequence of equal ratios) against an arithmetic progression (a sequence of equal differences), so that the logarithm of a number counts the ratios separating it from a starting value, turning multiplication into addition.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: logarithmus, λόγος
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈlɑ.ɡə.ɹɪ.ð(ə)m/
- British English: /ˈlɒɡ.ə.ɹɪ.ð(ə)m/