Kitz Forum
Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: sevenlayermuddle on December 29, 2020, 12:10:00 PM
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I assume we all consider ourselves to be reasonably numerate. But am I alone in having no recollection of some related, seemingly essential words?
"addend"
"augend"
"minuend"
"subtrahend"
If these words are not familiar, I suggest looking them up in a dictionary - I personally have no recollection of ever learning them, let alone any recollection of forgetting them. Happy to be told it's 'just me', and everybody else uses them daily. ???
They became 'necessary' when I was writing some assembly macros to perform basic arithmetic operations, and wanted to take the time to ensure my chosen parameter names would withstand scrutiny, even though they will never be scrutinised. When I had to work for a living I'd probably have chosen 'X' and 'Y', and written lots of good code by lunchtime. But doing things just for fun in retirement allows much more time to be spent on pointless detail, with code completion a less pressing objective. :D
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I assume we all consider ourselves to be reasonably numerate.
Indeed, but those words are all new to me.
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When I was at school (a very long time ago) maths was my subject and I sailed through my A levels, but those words didn't come into it then. I vaguely remember coming across them in later life in the course of my programming hobby, but their meanings didn't stick.
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Phew, not just me then.
Another question is of course, much as I like my newly discovered words, will I still remember them in a few month's time? I wouldn't bet on it. ::)
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Though this thread is about arithmetic, 'end' as the final syllable frequently points to it being a gerund/ive (noun from a verb, or adjective) with a meaning; fit, able, or ready to be.
Might the above helped SLM?
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Though this thread is about arithmetic, 'end' as the final syllable frequently points to it being a gerund/ive (noun from a verb, or adjective) with a meaning; fit, able, or ready to be.
Might the above helped SLM?
Thanks. But oh dear, maybe so Renluop, but not sure what it all means. I am unashamed to admit I’ve never really understood theory of grammar and the rules of English. :-[
Quite an admission maybe, for a guy who spent his working life learning and using programming languages but... that’s different! :D
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"addend"
"augend"
"minuend"
"subtrahend"
All four words are "foreign" to me. :o
The nearest match I can recover from the grey-matter is "addund" . . . but I have no idea from whence I obtained that word nor what it means. :-[
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A slightly curious thought is....
Whilst I may not utter the words “multiplier” or “divisor” every day of my life, I certainly do use them and regard them as essential words in my vocabulary. Same goes for “remainder”, “product”, “sum” and even “quotient”.
Yet I have reached the age I am now without ever wanting to find a word, in casual conversation, for an addend or subtrahend, let alone augend or minuend.
Thinking philosophically, I wonder, what is the difference? :-\
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what is the difference?
Nobody noticed my joke? Or just too terrible. :blush:
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The latter ::)
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:P
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I am now without ever wanting to find a word, in casual conversation, for an addend or subtrahend, let alone augend or minuend.
Thinking philosophically, I wonder, what is the difference? :-\
SLM, well I was keen languages at my old grammar school, and for what turned out useless for a future career, did French, Latin and German to A Level.
At last it's become useful. :oldman: :'( :D
Definitions:
addend
a number which is added to another.
augend
the number to which another is added.
subtrahend
a quantity or number to be subtracted from another
minuend
a quantity or number from which another is to be subtracted.
All from Dictionary on Line
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Yes indeed, these do seem to be the correct definitions. :)
I think we have different aptitudes. I also attended a grammar school. In first secondary year, everybody studied French. In second year, some studied German too, whilst those who really excelled could also study Latin or Greek.
Suffice it to say, I was never allowed to progress beyond French. And eventually, I failed the French O level. Even in English, I scraped through with the bare minimum grade set by my University entry requirements. :blush:
But, at school, I did rather buck the trend by doing rather will in Maths and Physics, to the extent I remember certain teachers expressing suspicions I may have somehow being cheating. I wasn’t, of course. :graduate: