Etymology
The term "trigonometry" derives from the Greek "τριγωνομετρία" ("trigonometria"), meaning "triangle measuring", from "τρίγωνο" (triangle) + "μετρεῖν" (to measure).
Our modern word "sine", is derived from the Latin word sinus, which means "bay", "bosom" or "fold", translating Arabic jayb. The Arabic term is in origin a corruption of Sanskrit jīvā "chord". Sanskrit jīvā in learned usage was a synonym of jyā "chord", originally the term for "bow-string". Sanskrit jīvā was loaned into Arabic as jiba. This term was then transformed into the genuine Arabic word jayb, meaning "bosom, fold, bay", either by the Arabs or by a mistake of the European translators such as Robert of Chester (perhaps because the words were written without vowels), who translated jayb into Latin as sinus. Particularly Fibonacci's sinus rectus arcus proved influential in establishing the term sinus.
The words "minute" and "second" are derived from the Latin phrases partes minutae primae and partes minutae secundae. These roughly translate to "first small parts" and "second small parts".
Read more about this topic: History Of Trigonometry
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)