Talk:quadratic

What about the derivation? Quad is four, is it not? But quadratic equations have only the first and second power of the unknown x. Why is that?

This answer seems plausible: http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52572.html trunkie 07:08, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Because it comes from the Latin for "square" rather than the Latin for "four" (as the link above explains). — Paul G 09:18, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)