Xref: utzoo comp.sys.handhelds:3640 sci.math:13495 sci.lang:8049
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!philapd!ssp9!dolf
From: dolf@idca.tds.PHILIPS.nl (Dolf Grunbauer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds,sci.math,sci.lang
Subject: Re: origin of eigenvalue & -vector
Message-ID: <527@ssp9.idca.tds.philips.nl>
Date: 16 Nov 90 16:09:40 GMT
References: <6132@quanta.eng.ohio-state.edu> <685@atcmpe.atcmp.nl> <TT.90Nov15113704@tarzan.jyu.fi>
Reply-To: dolf@idca.tds.philips.nl (Dolf Grunbauer)
Organization: Philips Information Systems, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Lines: 23

In article <TT.90Nov15113704@tarzan.jyu.fi> tt@tarzan.jyu.fi (Tapani Tarvainen) writes:
<In article <685@atcmpe.atcmp.nl> jc@atcmp.nl (Jan Christiaan van Winkel) writes:
<>eigenvalue and eigenvector. the word 
<>'eigen' stems from dutch and means something like 'own' or 'self'. I am proud
<>that at least a few words from my not so widespread language (about 20M people 
<>speak it) make it in international disciplins! :-)
<
<I've always thought eigenvalue and eigenvector come from German, not
<Dutch.  Does anybody know where, when and by whom they were first used
<(1) in any language (which?) and (2) in English, and which way they
<came to English?

I have been told that the idea of 'eigenvalue' ('eigenwaarde' in Dutch) and
'eigenvector' was discovered by a Dutch mathematician (Christian Huygens ?)
and he called it that way. He wrote a book about it and so it became known
to the rest of the world.

Another famous Dutch word is 'apartheid'.
-- 
   _ _ 
  / U |  Dolf Grunbauer  Tel: +31 55 433233 Internet dolf@idca.tds.philips.nl
 /__'<   Philips Information Systems        UUCP     ...!mcsun!philapd!dolf
88  |_\  If you are granted one wish do you know what to wish for right now ?