equation

04 SEP 2026

0/6 word facts discovered

equation

/ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/

noun

a formal statement of the equality or equivalence of mathematical or logical expressions

a formula with variables used to solve problems. Often related to mathematics, but it can also be used figuratively, e.g., “the equation of love.”

a formal statement of the equality or equivalence of mathematical or logical expressions

No solution to the love equation in her mind, complicated by a disappointing history of failed romantic attempts, would emerge anytime soon convincingly.

Japanese equivalent 方程式 ほうていしき · hōteishiki

equation; a mathematical statement that two expressions are equal

In Japanese

やばい！彼はその方程式を解いたと思います。

Wow! I think he solved that equation.

Hear the Japanese

Useless facts

The surprisingly eventful life of equation
Equation entered English in the late 1300s as equacioun, first describing the act or process of making things equal. English received it through French from Latin aequatio, built from aequare, “to make equal.”

Before it became classroom shorthand for an expression joined by an equals sign, the word wandered through astrology and medicine. Its mathematical life grew from the same central idea: two quantities placed into a declared relationship of equality.
The Scrabble score is 17 points: E = 1, Q = 10, U = 1, A = 1, T = 1, I = 1, O = 1, and N = 1.
8 letters and 3 syllables.
It is pronounced /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/, with the main stress on qua.
The word first appeared in English in the late 1300s as a term used in astrology.
Its Latin ancestor aequatio meant an equal distribution or the act of making equal.
The Japanese equivalent 方程式 is read ほうていしき (hōteishiki).
Word neighbors: equate → equation → equational.