Földvári Books

First Hungarian Mathematical Dictionary, with Bolyai’s Contributions

[Bolyai, Farkas]; [Et. Al.]

[Mathematikai Muszotar]. Mathematikai Műszótár. Közre bocsátja a’ Magyar Tudós Társaság. [Dictionary of Mathematical Terminology. By the Hungarian Association of Scientists.]

Budán [Buda]: A’ Magyar Kir. Egyetem’ Betüivel, 1834. First edition. In publisher’s printed wrappers. VIII, 110 p. Shelfmark in ink on front panel. Spine restored. Pages discolored. Water stains throughout. Overall in very good condition.

The first Hungarian dictionary for mathematical terms, with several contributions by Farkas Bolyai.

Farkas Bolyai was one of the authors and editors of the present work, which is the first Hungarian dictionary of mathematical terminology. Among the approximately 3,000 entries there are about 150 whose translations were coined by Bolyai.

The eight-page foreword provides the bibliography of the sources used for the dictionary, citing two works by Bolyai: “Arithmetica’ eleje. B.B.F. által” (1830; Elements of Arithmetic); and the Hungarian supplement for “Tentamen” (1832). The dictionary indicates which Hungarian work or works used or explained a given term earlier, thus it determines the coiner of the translation, such as “Addere, summázni. Bolyai” (p. 2.) or “Calculus integralis, […] Summaképkeresés. Arithm. (p. 17.). The final part of the book is a short vocabulary of military terms.

Farkas Bolyai (1775–1856) was a Hungarian mathematician, a close friend of Gauss who regarded him as the only man who fully understood his metaphysics of mathematics. “He can be taken as a precursor of Gottlob Frege, Pasch, and Georg Cantor; but, as with many pioneers, he did not enjoy the credit that accrued to those that followed him”. (DSB)

Scarce, outside of Hungary we could trace only two copies in institutional holdings (Cambridge University Library, UK; Columbia University Library, USA).

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Price: €1,000.00