entry
idempotent
/ˌaɪ.dəmˈpoʊ.tənt/Unchanged after repeated application or multiplication
From Latin idem (the same) + Latin potent (powerful).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
Word Ancestry
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
from Latin idem "the same, identical with" (see idem ) + potentem "powerful" (see potent ).
In 1870, American mathematician Benjamin Peirce gave algebra a word that sounds almost like a tiny philosophical slogan: “same power.” The first half, Latin idem, was a scribes’ shortcut meaning “the same as above”—a way to avoid writing the same name or phrase twice. The second half, potent, comes from Latin ideas of being powerful, capable, or even a master, and it is a cousin of omnipotent and plenipotentiary. Put them together and the mathematical image is wonderfully literal: an idempotent quantity has enough “power” to reproduce itself, but not enough effect to change after that. In computer science, an idempotent command is the dependable button you can press repeatedly without making a mess—the linguistic equivalent of “same result, please.”
The Story
In 1870, American mathematician Benjamin Peirce gave algebra a word that sounds almost like a tiny philosophical slogan: “same power.” The first half, Latin idem, was a scribes’ shortcut meaning “the same as above”—a way to avoid writing the same name or phrase twice. The second half, potent, comes from Latin ideas of being powerful, capable, or even a master, and it is a cousin of omnipotent and plenipotentiary. Put them together and the mathematical image is wonderfully literal: an idempotent quantity has enough “power” to reproduce itself, but not enough effect to change after that. In computer science, an idempotent command is the dependable button you can press repeatedly without making a mess—the linguistic equivalent of “same result, please.”
Kin & Kindred
From 'idem'·the same, identical with
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'potent'·powerful, able, capable
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
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