A*rith"me*tic (#), n. [OE. arsmetike, OF. arismetique, L. arithmetica, fr. Gr. (sc. ), fr. arithmetical, fr. to number, fr. number, prob. fr. same root as E. arm, the idea of counting coming from that of fitting, attaching. See Arm. The modern Eng. and French forms are accommodated to the Greek.]
1.
The science of numbers; the art of computation by figures.
2.
A book containing the principles of this science.
Arithmetic of sines, trigonometry. -- Political arithmetic, the application of the science of numbers to problems in civil government, political economy, and social science. -- Universal arithmetic, the name given by Sir Isaac Newton to algebra.
© Webster 1913.