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surd

 - 3 dictionary results

surd

  [surd] ,
Use surd in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Phonetics. voiceless (opposed to sonant ).
2. Mathematics. (of a quantity) not capable of being expressed in rational numbers; irrational.
–noun
3. Phonetics. a voiceless consonant (opposed to sonant ).
4. Mathematics. a surd quantity.
Origin:
1545–55; < L surdus dull-sounding, mute, deaf
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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surd   (sûrd)   
n.  

  1. Mathematics An irrational number, such as √2.

  2. Linguistics A voiceless sound in speech.

adj.   Linguistics
Voiceless, as a sound.

[Medieval Latin surdus, speechless, surd (translation of Arabic (jaḏr) 'aṣamm, deaf (root), surd, translation of Greek alogos, speechless, surd), from Latin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

surd 
1551, "irrational" (of numbers), from L. surdus "unheard, silent, dull," possibly related to susurrus "a muttering, whispering" (see susurration). The mathematical sense is from the use of L. surdus to translate Ar. (jadhr) asamm "deaf (root)," itself a loan-translation of Gk. alogos, lit. "speechless, without reason" (Euclid bk. x, Def.). In Fr., sourd remains the principal word for "deaf."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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