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Origin and history of logarithmic

logarithmic(adj.)

"of, pertaining to, or consisting of logarithms," 1690s, from logarithm + -ic. Related: Logarithmical (1630s); logarithmetical (1620s).

also from 1690s

Entries linking to logarithmic

logarithm(n.)

a mathematical function used to shorten calculation, 1610s, logarithmus, coined in Modern Latin by Scottish mathematician John Napier (1550-1617), literally "ratio-number," from Greek logos "proportion, ratio, word" (see Logos) + arithmos "number" (from PIE *erei-dhmo-, suffixed variant form of root *re- "to reason, count"). Napier invented them and published a table in 1614; the kind now chiefly in use were invented by his contemporary Henry Briggs (1561-1630), a professor of geometry at Gresham College, London.

-ic

Middle English -ik, -ick, word-forming element making adjectives, "having to do with, having the nature of, being, made of, caused by, similar to," from French -ique and directly from Latin -icus or from cognate Greek -ikos "in the manner of; pertaining to." From PIE adjective suffix *-(i)ko, which also yielded Slavic -isku, adjectival suffix indicating origin, the source of the -sky (Russian -skii) in many surnames. In chemistry, indicating a higher valence than names in -ous (first in benzoic, 1791).

In Middle English and after often spelled -ick, -ike, -ique. Variant forms in -ick (critick, ethick) were common in early Modern English and survived in English dictionaries into early 19c. This spelling was supported by Johnson but opposed by Webster, who prevailed.

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