Definition: arithmetic
Source: WordNet (r) 1.7
arithmetic
adj : relating to or involving arithmetic; "arithmetical
computations" [syn: arithmetical]
n : the branch of pure mathematics dealing with the theory of
numerical calculations
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Sexagesimal \Sex`a*ges"i*mal\, a. [Cf. F. sexag['e]simal.] Pertaining to, or founded on, the number sixty. Sexagesimal fractions or numbers (Arith. & Alg.), those fractions whose denominators are some power of sixty; as, 1/60, 1/3600, 1/216000; -- called also astronomical fractions, because formerly there were no others used in astronomical calculations. Sexagesimal, or Sexagenary, arithmetic, the method of computing by the sexagenary scale, or by sixties. Sexagesimal scale (Math.), the sexagenary scale.
Arithmetic \A*rith"me*tic\, n. [OE. arsmetike, OF. arismetique, L. arithmetica, fr. Gr. ? (sc. ?), fr. ? arithmetical, fr. ? to number, fr. ? number, prob. fr. same root as E. arm, the idea of counting coming from that of fitting, attaching. See Arm. The modern Eng. and French forms are accommodated to the Greek.] 1. The science of numbers; the art of computation by figures. 2. A book containing the principles of this science. Arithmetic of sines, trigonometry. Political arithmetic, the application of the science of numbers to problems in civil government, political economy, and social science. Universal arithmetic, the name given by Sir Isaac Newton to algebra.
Mathematics \Math`e*mat"ics\, n. [F. math['e]matiques, pl., L. mathematica, sing., Gr. ? (sc. ?) science. See Mathematic, and -ics.] That science, or class of sciences, which treats of the exact relations existing between quantities or magnitudes, and of the methods by which, in accordance with these relations, quantities sought are deducible from other quantities known or supposed; the science of spatial and quantitative relations. Note: Mathematics embraces three departments, namely: 1. Arithmetic. 2. Geometry, including Trigonometry and Conic Sections. 3. Analysis, in which letters are used, including Algebra, Analytical Geometry, and Calculus. Each of these divisions is divided into pure or abstract, which considers magnitude or quantity abstractly, without relation to matter; and mixed or applied, which treats of magnitude as subsisting in material bodies, and is consequently interwoven with physical considerations.
