al·go·rithm

(ăl′gə-rĭth′əm)

A finite set of unambiguous instructions that, given some set of initial conditions, can be performed in a prescribed sequence to achieve a certain goal and that has a recognizable set of end conditions.

[Variant (probably influenced by arithmetic) of algorism.]

al′go·rith′mic (-rĭth′mĭk) adj.

al′go·rith′mi·cal·ly adv.

Word History: Because of its popularity over the last century, one might figure algorithm for a new coinage. The source of algorithm, however, is not Silicon Valley but Khwarizm, a region near the Aral Sea in south-central Asia and the birthplace of the ninth-century mathematician Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi (780?-850?). Al-Khwarizmi, "the Khwarizmian," who later lived in Baghdad, wrote a treatise on what is called algorism, or the use of Arabic numerals for mathematical computation. Despite the name by which the Arabic numerals are known in Europe, these symbols, as well as the methods for using them, were actually developed in ancient India. Europeans learned to use the numerals, however, through treatises written in Arabic by mathematicians working in the Muslim world. Algorism, the English word for computation with Arabic numerals, is derived from Al-Khwarizmi's name. The word algorithm originated as a variant spelling of algorism, probably under the influence of the word arithmetic or its Greek source arithmos, "number." With the development of sophisticated mechanical computing devices in the 20th century, algorithm was adopted as a convenient word for a recursive mathematical procedure, the computer's stock-in-trade. In its new life as a computer term, algorithm, no longer a variant of algorism, nevertheless reminds us of the debt that modern technology owes to the scientists and scholars of ancient and medieval times.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

algorithm

(ˈælɡəˌrɪðəm)

1. (Mathematics) a logical arithmetical or computational procedure that if correctly applied ensures the solution of a problem. Compare heuristic

2. (Mathematics) logic maths a recursive procedure whereby an infinite sequence of terms can be generated

French name: algorism

[C17: changed from algorism, through influence of Greek arithmos number]

ˌalgoˈrithmic adj

ˌalgoˈrithmically adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•go•rithm

(ˈæl gəˌrɪð əm)

n.

1. a set of rules for solving a problem in a finite number of steps, as for finding the greatest common divisor.

2. a sequence of steps designed for programming a computer to solve a specific problem.

[1890–95; alter. of algorism, by association with Greek arithmós number. compare arithmetic]

al`go•rith′mic, adj.

al·go·rithm

(ăl′gə-rĭth′əm)

A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem, especially a mathematical rule or procedure used to compute a desired result.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

algorithm

any methodology for solving a certain kind of problem.

algorithm

[ˈælgəˌrɪðəm] N → algoritmo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

algorithm

[ˈælgərɪðəm] n → algorithme m
computer algorithm → algorithme informatique genetic algorithm

algorithm

n → Algorithmus m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

algorithm

[ˈælgəˌrɪð/əm] n (Comput) → algoritmo

al·go·rithm

n. algoritmo, método aritmético y algebraico que se usa en el diagnóstico y tratamiento de una enfermedad.