Algorithm

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈælɡəɹɪðm/
• Hyphenation: al + go + ri + thm

Origin

From French algorithme; from the Old French algorisme ("the Arabic numeral system"), a modification likely due to a mistaken connection with Ancient Greek ἀριθμός; from Medieval Latin algorismus, a transliteration of Arabicized form of the name of the Persian mathematician al-Khwārizmī (الخوارزمي ("native of Khwarezm")).

Alternative forms

• algorism obsolete

Full definition of algorithm

Noun

1. A precise step-by-step plan for a computational procedure that possibly begins with an input value and yields an output value in a finite number of steps.
• 1990, Cormen, Leiserson, and Rivest, Introduction to Algorithms: page 1. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press, 1999 (23rd printing)Informally, an algorithm is any well-defined computational procedure that takes some value, or set of values, as input and produces some value, or set of values, as output. An algorithm is thus a sequence of computational steps that transform the input into the output.
• 2013-07-26, Leo Hickman, How algorithms rule the world, The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. And, as their ubiquity spreads, so too does the debate around whether we should allow ourselves to become so reliant on them – and who, if anyone, is policing their use.
2. (archaic) Calculation with Arabic numerals; algorism.

Hyponyms

• approximation algorithm
• checksum algorithm
• classification algorithm
• compression algorithm
• computer arithmetic algorithm
• distributed algorithm
• divide and conquer algorithm
• genetic algorithm
• greedy algorithm
• parallel algorithm
• randomized algorithm
• randomized algorithm
• semi-algorithm
• sequential algorithm

Related terms

Usage notes

Though some technical definitions require that an algorithm always terminate in a finite number of steps, this distinction is not generally observed in practice.

Anagrams

• logarithm