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Re: Calculators "old technology"
From: Robin Stuart
Date: 2020 May 3, 08:18 -0700
From: Robin Stuart
Date: 2020 May 3, 08:18 -0700
Frank,
You wrote "I was just making a comment on the linguistic shift that has occurred over the centuries. The word "equation"..."
Indeed terms like Equation of Time, Equation of Equinoxes and Equation of Equal Altitudes seem strange at least to this modern ear. I attempted to look into its etymology online but what I found reflected the present day understanding. My hardcopy of the of the Oxford English Dictionary clears things up nicely and has the current popular interpretation as 3rd on its list. Seeing "equation" as "making equal" rather than "being equal" makes the logic of the terminology fall into place,
Regards,
Robin
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