math

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mæθ/^[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening of mathematics, American English.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mathematics: 1890 in the OED and Etymonline, about 1847 in MWU.^[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The British preference, maths, is attested from 1911.^[2] The OED notes that in Britain math. is used as an abbreviation in writing but not in speech, where the normal form is maths.^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 1847 – first known use.^[4]
• 1890 – math.^[3][2]
• 1911 – British maths.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (chiefly North American) mathematics.

Related words

• mathematics
• maths

Usage notes

Another word math, “a mowing”, from Old English mǣþ, is obsolete except in dialect and in aftermath;^[2][6][7] it is related to mow and meadow.^[8] A third, from Hindi maṭh, is a Hindu monastery, from 1828.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.