Prosthaphaeresis (nonfiction)

Prosthaphaeresis (from the Greek προσθαφαίρεσις) was an algorithm used in the late 16th century and early 17th century for approximate multiplication and division using formulas from trigonometry.

For the 25 years preceding the invention of the logarithm in 1614, it was the only known generally applicable way of approximating products quickly.

Its name comes from the Greek prosthesis and aphaeresis, meaning addition and subtraction, two steps in the process.

Fiction cross-reference

• Crimes against mathematical constants
• Gnomon algorithm
• Mathematics

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Logarithm (nonfiction)
• Mathematics (nonfiction)

External links:

• Prosthaphaeresis @ Wikipedia