# algebra

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈæl.dʒɪ.bɹə/ · frequency rank #9,994

## Definitions
1. Elementary algebra: A system for representing and manipulating unknown quantities (variables) in equations.
2. Abstract algebra: A broad field of study in modern mathematics (often mentioned alongside analysis) loosely characterized by its concern for abstraction and symmetry, dealing with the behavior, classification, and application of a large class of objects (called algebraic structures) and the maps between them (called, most generally, morphisms).
3. Any of several objects of study in Algebra
4. Any of several objects of study in Algebra
5. A collection of subsets of a given set, such that this collection contains the empty set, and the collection is closed under unions and complements (and thereby also under intersections and differences).
6. A system or process (especially one that is complex or convoluted) that substitutes one thing for another, or uses signs or symbols to represent concepts or ideas.
7. The surgical treatment of a dislocated or fractured bone. Also (countable): a dislocation or fracture.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Arabic جَبَرَ (jabara)
Arabic الْجَبْر (al-jabr)bor.
Medieval Latin algebrabor.
English algebra
Borrowed from Medieval Latin algebra, from the Arabic الْجَبْر (al-jabr, “reunion, resetting of broken parts”) in the title of al-Khwarizmi's influential work الْكِتَاب الْمُخْتَصَر فِي حِسَاب الْجَبْر وَالْمُقَابَلَة (al-kitāb al-muḵtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala, “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”).

## Easily confused with
- **Alger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/algebra-vs-alger)
- **Algeria** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/algebra-vs-algeria)
- **Allegra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/algebra-vs-allegra)
- **algebraic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/algebra-vs-algebraic)

## Common misspellings (10)
`aglebra`, `alegbra`, `algbera`, `algebar`, `algebbra`, `algebrra`, `algerba`, `alggebra`, `allgebra`, `lagebra`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/algebra