subscript etymology

Etymology

The word "subscript" is derived from Latin, where it means "written underneath."

Meaning

A subscript is a number, letter, or symbol that is placed below and slightly to the right of a variable or symbol to indicate a specific element or quantity.

Origin

The concept of subscripts originated in mathematics, where they were first used to denote the position of a term in a sum or product. In the 17th century, mathematicians began using subscripts to indicate the position of a variable in an equation or function.

Usage

Subscripts are commonly used in various fields, including:

• Mathematics: To denote the position of a term or variable in an equation or function, such as x₂ or f(x).
• Chemistry: To indicate the number of atoms of a specific element in a molecule, such as H₂O.
• Physics: To denote the component of a vector or tensor, such as v₂ or T₁₁.
• Computer science: To indicate the index of an element in an array or list, such as arr[2].
• Linguistics: To indicate the pronunciation of a word or letter, such as "ʃ" in "ship."

Examples

• In the equation x + x₂ = 3, the subscript "2" indicates that the second term is x².
• In the molecule CO₂, the subscript "2" indicates that there are two oxygen atoms bonded to the carbon atom.
• In the vector v = (v₁, v₂, v₃), the subscript "1" indicates the x-component of the vector.

subscript relate terms

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